


The Devil's Symphony

by morebeesthanyoucouldimagine



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Demons, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-16 04:26:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13628559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine/pseuds/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine
Summary: “I love you, Levi.”But Levi didn’t say anything, he just gave Eren a gentle smile in reply.“I’ve been around the world constantly searching for something, and it’s all lead me to you. I could spend an eternity with you by my side, and I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”





	1. First Movement

This was fucking exhausting.

Eren rubbed his tired eyes, as he lowered himself to the ground to join his friends. Instead of lying face down in the dirt like Armin, he chose to rest his back on a tree trunk next to Mikasa. He lifted his eyes to the leafy canopy above them. The sun was shimmering through the trees. It felt like the world was standing still. It was peaceful around them, but it was not peaceful in their minds and in their hearts.

Eren felt Mikasa move next to him. He could feel his skin prickling as her eyes inspected them. Eren was too exhausted to glance back at her and kept his eyes on the tree branches above them. Eren blinked slowly as the light flickered through the dying leaves. The leaves were rotting on the trees, yet none of them had fallen onto the dry grass surrounding the roots of these ancient trees.

The inhabitants of the nearby town claimed that it was odd, but didn’t think anything of it until the wildlife fled from the area overnight. There were no birds to sing their songs and there were no racoons to harass the neighborhood’s trash cans. Something was wrong here, but the disrupted nature wasn’t the only sign that something was distorting the area.

Eren turned his head to the left a bit as his eyes swept over the trees surrounding them. His eyes became unfocused as he felt another wave of exhaustion drag down his energy. He let his eyes slip shut for a few seconds and fought to open them once more. 

“They’re gold.” Mikasa said sleepily. Eren squinted in confusion at her unclear words. “Your eyes, the sunshine makes them look gold.” She mumbled her explanation, she slumped over, leaning onto her brother.

Eren stayed still for a moment before letting out a chuckle that carried on for a few seconds longer than comfortable. His laughter peaked at odd moments and died out sharply. Armin lifted his head up and gave Eren a curious look.

“God, I’m so tired.” Eren whined. The bags under his eyes made it seem like he hadn’t properly slept in centuries. A gentle, breathy yawn tore itself from Eren’s mouth as he merely thought about sleeping.

The rest of the group seemed to be faring worse than Eren was. Mikasa started to root around her pocket, the jingling of coins filled the air as she finally grasped what she was looking for. “Eren, go get us some coffee to drink,” she said and tossed some crinkled small bills in Eren’s general direction. It missed him by a foot, but no one in the group seemed to care.

If a lesser demon ripped through the earth’s crust before them, Eren was feel confident in wagering that they would all just blink slowly for a bit before lazily flicking holy water at it. They could barely sleep at night anymore. There was something about this town that was just making it impossible for them to rest easy. The moment they would close their eyes, they would feel the hairs on their skin start to stiffen. The air would shift around them and the all too familiar feeling of being hunted would wash over them. When they did manage to steal some precious moments of sleep, nightmares chased away any energy they might have recovered. 

Eren stretched his arms high above his head. His arms let out a delightful symphony of cracks as he got his blood flowing. “Why do I have to go?” He tried to stand up, but even using the tree for stability did not help, and he slumped back down to the forest floor.

“Because.” Armin mumbled from the other side of the clearing.

“Thanks, Armin.” Eren rolled his eyes, making a second attempt at standing up. He was successful.

“We could get better energy by sleeping, than by drinking shitty coffee.” Armin pointed out as Eren reached over to where Mikasa had sleepily thrown her money.

“But ‘you can’t sleep when you’re chasing down the Queen of Hell’, can you?” Armin loosely quoted something Eren had said the other day.

Eren chuckled, raising his arms in the air defensively. “Alright, alright, I’m going.” He picked his backpack up off the ground and swung it over his shoulder. He said goodbye to his tired friends and started to make his way through the forest towards town.

Eren shivered as the winter air seeped into his thick coat. The only sounds that cut through the crisp air was Eren’s soft breathing, his footsteps, and the occasional breeze dancing with the decomposing leaves above him. No matter how strong the wind got, not a single leaf was picked up and whisked away.

The winter air nipped at his nose as he walked through the trees. Perhaps they shouldn’t have set up camp so deep into the woods. It made getting into town difficult, especially at night. Should something attack them at night, they would be on their own. If they had a medical emergency, there might not be time to run out of the woods and get to the small clinic on the outskirts of the town. They were provided with medical supplies, but none of them were doctors in their own right.

They were also given a small radio to get weather updates and emergency information from the rest of the Corps. Earlier in the morning, Mikasa pulled it out of her tent and climbed up a few branches to get a better signal as Eren pulled out their breakfast rations. Armin was in charge of paying close attention to the crackled announcements that interrupted the silence. Armin had the finest hearing out of all of them. Mikasa could barely make out a single word even as she was holding it, so it was a miracle that Armin could get the gist of the forecast. The forecast was calling for snow this afternoon, turning into ice in the morning, something that they wouldn’t want to deal with out in the woods.

They were supposed to stay out of sight as much as possible, but Eren was considering either moving their camp closer to town or getting a hotel room or two to stay in. The weather was getting more unpredictable

Eren was pulled out of his thoughts when he finally pushed through the tree line. He walked through the grass and onto the sidewalk. He walked past the little houses that lined the streets. He could see and hear kids squealing with joy as they played with their friends, it made Eren think back to his own fond and distant childhood. While he missed it dearly, he had a purpose now, and longing to go back to those times would only hurt him.

Some of the children ran away from Eren as he continued down the sidewalk, others greeted the stranger. The friendlier children smiled and showed how they were missing some of their baby teeth. Eren loved kids for sure, but he wasn’t sure if he was the type to become a father.

The children’s laughter started to die down as Eren walked farther from the residential section of the neighborhood and into the more commercial district. There didn’t seem to be any large chain stores, it seemed that all the stores were probably run by the families living in the town. It was cute to Eren, it gave it a feeling that felt comfortable and natural.

There were many different stores on the block, clothing stores with mannequins in the windows, a little grocery store, and even a candle shop. Eren wondered if the stores did well financially. He assumed so considering how well they were all kept. Their windows glistened and their products were lined up with pride.

He felt the cold seep deeper into his clothing, so he sped up his walk a little to get to the local café quicker. He was absolutely shivering when he finally saw a little chalkboard sign outside of one of the stores advertising their winter coffee flavors. “Try our Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Peppermint Chai!” It had a few crude snowflakes and pumpkins drawn in chalk. Eren pushed open the café’s door and the bell above the door chimed, letting the staff know another customer had walked in.

The cozy little café was much more crowded than Eren would have guessed. Most of the tables were full and the patrons were all engaged in conversations and enjoying the company of friends. Eren looked around and saw a glass display case by the register. He glanced at the pastries and could feel his stomach growl in protest. He hadn’t exactly been eating like a king these days. He resisted the urge to press his face against the glass like a child, but those pastries looked amazing and he really wanted a closer look.

The sound of someone tapping a microphone startled him away from the glass and had him looking around the café to find the source. His attention was drawn to the small stage in the back of the café where a man was rearranging some sound equipment. He was wearing an adorable pink lace dress that came down just above his knees. His muscular legs were a striking contrast to the rest of his cute outfit, but Eren loved it even more. His eyes rose to look at the man’s face and he was blown away by how breathtaking he looked.

The man cleared his throat and looked over to the counter. The woman working on the drinks gave him a simple thumbs up and put out a tip jar next to the register before resuming her work. With her approval, he began to sing.

As if the singer was a deadly siren, leading innocent sailors to their watery graves, Eren was enthralled. The enchanting voice echoed within him. His voice shaped the words like a stream shapes a stone. So smooth and so rich, the man’s voice was easily the most beautiful thing Eren had ever heard.

And just like that, the song was over too soon.

A few people started clapping, and Eren swore that someone was snapping their fingers in encouragement. The fluttering chatter in the café resumed again, the patrons continuing with their personal conversations as Eren just stood there at the foot of the stage staring at the singer. He was turning off his microphone and wrapping the cord up gently. He kept glancing down at Eren as he put his stuff together.

“Oi, stop staring. It’s creepy.” The man glared down at Eren. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. It’s just-” Eren frantically tried to explain but the singer cut him off.

“So, what, I’m wearing lipstick and a dress. I can still kick your ass.” He growled. His words felt rehearsed as they fell off his tongue.

“I don’t doubt that, it’s just that you’re the most-” Eren couldn’t string his words together for a moment, he was too distracted his beauty. “the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh really.” He said more than asked. Clearly, he wasn’t used to the idea of people actually taking him seriously. “What’s your name?”  
“Eren.” The hunter stammered out. He wanted to look the beautiful man in the eyes, but he was struggling to do so.

“Interesting.” Something flickered behind the singer’s eyes. “Is there something you need?”

“Yeah, your number.” Eren mumbled under his breath. He didn’t mean for the singer to hear him, but the shift in his expression told Eren that he had. Eren panicked a little as the singer swept his eyes over him.

“Hmm, not bad.” The singer seemed to approve. Eren’s face flushed as the man took out a scrap of paper and wrote down his number. He handed it over to Eren before carrying the microphone stand with him as he left the stage. Eren just stood there staring at the space where the singer was standing. He blinked a few times before looking down at the note. It had a phone number on it with a little note that said. “Be sure to call me. -Levi.”

Eren looked back up at the stage, a little upset that Levi was gone, but he was so happy that he got the man’s number to really care. He walked out of the café feeling like he was worlds away.  
-  
Eren pushed his way back through the forest and towards their camp. He tried to keep his smile from splitting his face in half, but he wasn’t too successful.

He entered the clearing to find Mikasa and Armin putting up their tents and turning on their portable heaters. Demon hunting during winter was hell, but perhaps they’ll catch the Queen when hell freezes over.

Mikasa was the first to notice her brother walk into the clearing. Her look of concern and worry melted away into one of relief. “Hey, Eren. Why were you gone for so long?”

Armin’s head whipped up at her question and looked at his best friend and smiled. “And did you get the coffee?”

Eren brought his palm up to his forehead and sighed loudly. “I forgot.” Damn it all, he was so focused on that incredibly attractive singer that he had forgotten about what he had set out to do. His friends were quite forgiving though.

“No worries, man, Mikasa got some because you took too long.” Armin explained picking up his half empty cup and taking a sip. “If you didn’t get the coffee, then what were you doing?”

“So, I went to the café, and there was a man performing on the stage. I swear, the spotlight on him made him look absolutely divine. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. And his voice, it was so smooth and gentle, like the peaceful waves of the ocean. Pushing me away and yet pulling me in.” Eren sighed at the memories that flooded his mind. There was something about Levi that no human could truly describe.

Mikasa tried to contain her giggles over her brother’s excessively poetic description. Armin snickered, “Damn, did you get his number?”

“Maybe you should get to know him better before you do anything serious.” His sister warned.

“I feel like I already know so much about him, and yet so little.” Eren said dreamily as he grabbed his tent and attempted to pitch it up. Attempted being the keyword there.

Armin rummaged through his bag and pulled out a blanket and shoved it into his tent. “Mikasa’s right though, don’t get hitched until you actually know him.”

Eren threw his tent down in frustration with both it and his friends. “Jesus, do you guys honestly think I would pop the question that fast?” Mikasa sighed and went to help her brother. She picked up the support sticks and showed Eren the right spots to put them for the hundredth time.

“Maybe, you do make stupid decisions sometimes.” Mikasa answered her brother as they pulled the tarp over the frame.

“Hey!” Eren frowned at his sister. He hated it when Armin and Mikasa ganged up on him.

“We’re just trying to look out you.” Armin reminded him as he finished up his coffee.

Eren sighed as he opened up his bag and pulled out his supplies. He knelt down to the ground as he pulled out the essentials. “I know, and I appreciate that, but I’m not a child anymore.”

“You seem really happy though.” Mikasa smiled and gave Eren a knowing look.

Eren didn’t meet his sister’s eyes, and kept going through his bag. “I feel like I’ve found someone that I’ve searched for an eternity to find.” Eren glared down at his sleeping bag when he heard Armin burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry, but that’s hilarious.” Armin wiped a stray tear from his eye. “It sounds like the overly romantic exaggeration you’d find in a fanfiction.” Eren’s brow furrowed. He dusted off his jacket before storming out of the clearing.

“Eren,” Mikasa’s concerned voice chased after her brother.

“Eren!” Armin called after him, still chuckling about his friend’s crazy little heart. “We love you!” He shouted before turning to Mikasa, smiling.

“I’m happy for him.” She admitted.

Armin nodded before turning on his personal heater and slipping it into his tent. “I hope it does work out for him though.” As far as they knew, Eren had never been in a relationship before, and it would probably scar his heart if it ended badly.

“Yeah, he does deserve someone.” Mikasa agreed looking back at the backpack Eren left behind. She hoped he wouldn’t need it.

-

Eren shook his phone in aggravation, the forest never had a good signal. He walked back into the neighborhood on the outskirts of the forest, and tried again. Thankfully, his phone finally seemed to work. Eren heard his cell ring once, then twice, then a third time.

He bounced back and forth on his feet nervously. “Come on, please pick up.” Eren begged. He tapped his foot in anxiety. He needed to hear Levi’s voice again. Every ring from the phone just made him more and more upset. He thought about just hanging up to avoid the embarrassing moment of hearing Levi’s voicemail, but Eren was glad he didn’t when he heard Levi pick up the phone.

 

His face cracked into a grin when he heard Levi’s voice on the other line. “Who the fuck is this?”. It sounded like he didn’t want to be disturbed, and Eren would have regretted calling him if he wasn’t so excited to talk to the singer.

“Hey, it’s Eren.” He answered.

“Oh right, the guy from the café, right?” Levi’s voice was a little distorted and cracked, the reception in the neighborhood was rather poor. But it didn’t really matter, because hopefully Eren would get to hear his voice in person again.

“Yeah, I was wondering if you would want to go out once your shift ended?” He tried to keep his voice steady, but it was difficult. His nerves threatened to make his voice waver. What if Levi didn’t want to meet up with a complete stranger?

If Levi did care about that, he didn’t let on to it. “My shift just ended actually, do you wanna meet me at the diner on Rose Street? They have strawberry milkshakes to murder for.” Levi’s misuse of the popular idiom made Eren a bit uneasy, but he still needed to see Levi again. They were only separated for an hour, but it seemed too long. It felt like something unearthly was pulling him to Levi.

“That sounds fantastic, Levi. I’ll see you there.” Eren smiled and hung up. His mind buzzed with joy and ran down the sidewalk towards the commercial area of the town.

Eren found the diner rather quickly looked around for his date. When he saw that Levi wasn’t there, he sat down in one of the booths and waited. The diner was quite similar to the café now that he thought about it, it had a rather cozy and homey feeling to it. The booth seats had comfortable cushions, and there were televisions on the walls playing movies and different news stations. The wait staff seemed nice and friendly and the fans overhead gently spun as Eren stared out of the window and into the busy street, waiting for his date to show up.

Eren rested his head on his fist for the first ten minutes of waiting, and started to play around on his phone for the next ten minutes or so until something brightly colored passed by the window. Eren’s head snapped up when the bell by the door rang, and the most perfect man he had ever seen walked in the door.

Eren smiled at his date and waved him over. Levi walked over to the table and placed his bag down before sitting in the both on the opposite side of Eren.

“Sorry I’m late, I went home to my apartment to freshen up a bit first.” Levi explained while unzipping his coat. Eren’s mouth hung open as Levi took off his winter coat to reveal the pale pink crop top underneath.

“Don’t be sorry, you look amazing.” He couldn’t stop himself from blushing at the sight of Levi’s skin. He couldn’t help but notice all the scars on Levi’s torso, but that didn’t deter from his beauty in the slightest.

“Thanks.” Levi said giving what would barely qualify as a smile, but it resonated within Eren and made his heart flutter.

Eren just awkwardly stared at his date before panicking and racking his brain for a conversation topic. “So, what got you into singing?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Levi took a deep breath and looked lost in thought for a moment. “An old boyfriend of mine told me that I’m an amazing singer, and he always encouraged it.” Levi said quietly. “He was the best thing that ever happened to me, but we got separated.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Eren said looking down at his hands in his lap. He already fucked it up, he had already made it awkward. Fuck, now Levi surely wouldn’t want to continue dating him.

Levi sighed and glanced out the window before looking Eren in the eyes. Something deadly lay behind that enchanting silver. “Don’t be, it’s not like you had anything to do with it.”

Eren’s breath caught in his throat, so Levi ordered for the both of them when the waitress came around. He only ordered one strawberry milkshake, and the lady gave both of them a knowing look and smiling. “One strawberry milkshake for the lovebirds, coming right up.” She scribbled the order down on her notepad before walking off to take the orders from another table.

Levi turned back to Eren and asked him a few simple questions to get to know him, and those questions lead into more flowing conversations that eased Eren’s nerves. It was fun to hear how Levi talked. It was the oddest combination of refined, awkward, and crude. It was so unique, and it had definitely wormed its way into Eren’s heart.

“Finally.” Levi grumbled as the waitress brought their milkshake. She put two straws into the shake and pointed them towards the two men. She winked at both of them before going back into the kitchen.

Eren and Levi locked eyes as they took the straws into their mouths and started drinking. Eren crossed his fingers underneath the table, unaware that Levi was doing the same.

They continued to talk about a wide variety of topics and threw jokes around. They finished their first milkshake rather quickly, and ordered another one. They went through that one just as fast as the first one.

Eren looked down at his watch and was upset to see how late it was. They both agreed to end the date. Levi called the waitress over, and attempted to pay for the drinks, but Eren handed over some cash for the drinks first. Levi raised an eyebrow and stood up from the booth. Eren followed him out of the diner into the frigid winter night.

“This was lovely, Eren.” Levi admitted. “When can I see you again?”

Eren smiled at the thought of Levi wanting to continue their relationship. “We could go to the park tomorrow, it seems lovely.”

“I don’t think I’ve been to the park, actually.” Levi said, the breath in his words made a little cloud in front of his lips. Even though they had only been outside for a few moments, Eren could already see the cold nip at Levi’s nose.

“Really? Haven’t you lived here for a while?” Eren asked curiously. Sure, he hadn’t expected Levi to have visited every part of the tiny town, but going to the park seemed like one of those thanks that most people did.

“Yeah, but I’ve just never been there. I’m not really fond of this place, I’ve always wanted to leave.” Levi shrugged as he zipped up his jacket over his crop top. Sure, he looked cute in it, but Levi was starting to regret his outfit choice.

“What’s the place first place you’d want to go?” Eren smiled and helped his new boyfriend put on the coat.

“Probably Germany.” The singer said, he looked lost in thought for a while, most likely thinking about his past.

“I love Germany. I was born and raised there actually.” The hunter smiled and held Levi close to him. He wanted to keep Levi warm, but also close to him. My childhood feels like it was an eternity ago though.”

“I know that feeling.” Levi sighed as he latched on to Eren. Damn, that kid was like a walking furnace. Despite the hellish temperatures, it was heavenly.

“So, do you wanna meet at the park tomorrow?” Eren asked for clarification. He was already excited at the idea of seeing Levi in the morning. Levi nodded and Eren’s grin widened. “Actually, could I pick you up at your apartment?” Eren asked. “It’s kinda cold outside, I don’t want you to slip on ice or something.”

Levi’s smile seemed barely existent, but Eren could see it there. “Sure, why not.” He scribbled down something on his napkin and slid it to Eren. “Here, it’s my address. I’ll leave the door unlocked, so you can just come on in.” Levi wriggled out of the hunter’s arms. “I need to be getting home.”

“Me, too.” Eren sighed. He wished he could have held Levi just a bit longer.

“This was nice. Thank you, Eren.” Levi nodded politely before turning around and walking down the sidewalk toward his apartment. He hated to see Levi leave, but he loved watching him go.

Eren stood there for a few more minutes before going his own way back to the forest.

He ran into camp and startled his friends. Armin waited expectantly for Eren’s report of his date.

“Guys, I’m fucked.” He said honestly. “He’s too precious, but I know he could kick my ass if he wanted to.” His friends both laughed, but Mikasa’s laughter died first.

“He better not.” She said in a stern but loving voice, letting Eren know that if Levi ever hurt him, he’d have hell to pay.


	2. Second Movement

It was absolutely freezing when Eren dragged himself out of his tent. He couldn’t sleep at all. He was a human furnace, and he even had a personal portable heater in his tent, but it was just too damned cold. He couldn’t remember the last time he had properly slept.

His joints protested and cracked as he finally stood. Letting out a silent yawn, he looked around their small camp. Snow covered the forest ground and ice hung from the bare tree branches like ornaments. The sky was bright, but clouds hid the sun from him, making the morning even colder.

Eren walked past Armin and Mikasa’s tents, and could hear his best friend snoring loudly and his sister kicking the side of the tent in her sleep. Eren chuckled and decided to let them sleep instead of waking them up to tell them where he went. He sent Mikasa a quick text for when she woke up. He didn’t want her to panic and search the entire forest for him.

Eren grabbed his backpack from off the cold, frozen ground. He slung it over his shoulder before walking out of the encampment and into the denser part of the forest. The forest floor was lined with slick ice patches. Eren had never been one to take things slow and cautiously, especially not right now. Levi was waiting for him on the other side of this forest. Eren wouldn’t make him wait.

He took a sharp breath of fresh, frigid air before picking up the pace. His feet slammed into the earth as he ran, crushing any ice beneath him. The shattering sound was the only noise that accompanied Eren that morning. The forest was deathly still and even more so silent.

As he walked back into the neighborhood, he saw that a snowplow had already come through and had cleared road. This left huge piles of snow in front of the driveways that would no doubt piss off the adults and delight the children. Eren expected there to be many snowmen and snow forts in the front lawns when he walked back later to return to camp. He looked forward to it.

Eren pulled out the paper Levi handed to him in the diner. He looked all around for some street signs to point him in the right direction. His brows furrowed and wished Levi had sketched out a map for him instead. Eren continued to walk through the snow-covered neighborhood. The town was small enough that he might be able to stumble upon the address.

and into the shopping district and continued past to where a few small apartment buildings were located. He walked up the flights of the one where Levi lived, and glanced down at the paper one more time to make sure that he was in front of the correct one.

Eren hesitantly knocked on Levi’s apartment door.

No answer.

He grasped the door knob, the cold metal nipping at his bare fingers. He turned it and found it was unlocked, just as Levi promised it would be. He stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

Eren slowly looked up and took in the sight of Levi’s apartment. The small hallway he was in had minimal, yet tasteful décor. It felt simple and clean. He saw all the shoes by the door, and left his snow-covered shoes next to them before continuing through the apartment.

He glanced into the living room. He barely registered the décor and organization as he briefly looked over the room. Levi wasn’t there. He walked into the connected Kitchen and noticed some the tea cups stacked perfectly on the counters and on the shelves. There weren’t that many for an ordinary kitchen, but as far as Eren knew, Levi lived alone. It did seem excessive.

Eren abandoned his search for a moment to further inspect the kitchen.

His feet chilled as he stepped onto the cold terracotta tiles. His eyes swept over the simple, humble birch cabinets that were only adorned with woven iron handles. The old, beaten up refrigerator rumbled and purred softly as morning light filtered through the blinds on the opposite wall. The dim, golden light reflected off of the copper pots that were hung from a rack above the sink. The light danced onto the dark granite counters, the surface was like a placid lake. There wasn’t a single stain, scratch, or smear on it. Levi kept things clean.

A small table was set up in front of the windows. The rising sun was caught in the backs of the birch chairs and cast their shadows on the walls. It was a tiny place to eat. There was probably only enough room for one and a half people to eat comfortably, but Eren could already imagine himself eating dinner with Levi. Just sitting across from him, staring into his eyes as they talked the night away.

Eren smiled, fueled by the image conjured by his own imagination and kept strolling down the hall. He wondered if he should have just waited in the living room. He probably should have, but he hadn’t found a single indicator that Levi was there. There was no half-finished cup of coffee on the counter, or breakfast dishes in the sink. He hadn’t left a note for Eren either. Eren overstepped his boundaries once more and opened up one of the only doors in the hallway.

Steam greeted Eren’s face as the door pushed open. Eren instantly regretted his curiosity. Eren’s eyes jerked away, but the damage had already been done. Levi had stopped toweling his hair and noticed the door about to shut. Drops of water were still slowly making their way down his naked body as the realization that Eren had already arrived. It seemed that Eren had most certainly made himself at home.

“Eren, what the hell!” He screeched using his hand to cover up the nape of his neck, before grabbing a towel and covering his crotch. Eren’s face flushed at the sight of the bare muscular man. Levi cleared his throat and tried to relax slightly. His efforts were in vain and he barely held himself back from slapping Eren across the face. “You’re here earlier than I expected,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Sorry.” Eren mumbled, blush adorning his face as he refused to look back at his date.

“Could you please close the door and wait for me in the kitchen?” Levi asked gently, at least Eren was being somewhat polite about it, many other men hadn’t been the same.  
Eren nodded dutifully and shut the door quickly.

While he was waiting, he might as well try to make it up to Levi. He had already invaded his privacy, why not make tea to make up for it? Eren grabbed one of the kettles and filled it with water from the sink before turning on the stove. He opened a few of Levi’s cabinets to try and find his tea stash, and look through to find one that his new boyfriend might like.

Since all of the tea belonged to Levi, he probably could have gone with any of them seeing as Levi probably only bought tea that he liked, but he went with Earl Grey. Eren himself had grown quite fond of its more robust and prominent flavor over the years. He rarely got a taste of it, but it soothed him whenever he could get his hands on it.

When the kettle started to whistle for his attention, Eren quickly opened up the lid of it to let the steam out and to stop the horrible noise. He hoped it hadn’t disrupted Levi any more than he already had. He let out a small gentle sigh as he tugged gently on the woven iron handles on the cabinets above him. The first set was filled with plates and bowls.

His second attempt at rummaging through Levi’s belongings proved to be more successful. He picked out a gorgeous tea pot from one of the cupboards, and poured in the boiling hot water. He popped in two tea bags and went to sit down at the kitchen table while he waited for Levi to come out.

He hoped he hadn’t scared Levi off, and he really hoped that Levi would forgive him.

Eren sat there waiting for about eight minutes before Levi walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. He smiled at his boyfriend and took in the sight of him in a cute purple sweater with some nice pale blue jeans. The hunter cocked his head towards the teapot on the counter. “I made some tea.”

Levi made an awkward, distressed half smile. As if he didn’t like how quickly Eren made himself at home, but was bought over by the tea. “How’d you know I love tea?”

“You have tea cups everywhere and you have, like, twenty boxes in your cabinets,” Eren chuckled.

Levi rolled his eyes and grabbed a cup and poured himself some tea. He held the cup close to his chest and took a deep breath in before taking a sip. “Fair enough.”

They talked for a while, rather, Eren talked and Levi gave his input every now and then. Levi loved how excited Eren got over everything. It almost reminded him of-

No.

He shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. He was about to go on a lovely date. He shouldn’t be dwelling on the past right now.

When they finished their cups, Levi cleaned them in the sink and followed Eren out the front door of his apartment. Eren opened the door to the outside, but stopped Levi before he walked through. Levi huffed and looked up at Eren for an explanation. “It’s slippery as hell out there, do you want to hold my hand?” Eren smiled, offering his hand to the shorter man.

“No, I’ll be fine.” Levi shook his head and took a step forward, right onto some ice. “Fuck!” He screeched as he skidded forward.

His panic was cut short when Eren’s arms grasped him from behind and stopped him from falling on his ass. “Maybe I should just carry you from here?” His savior laughed.

“You can try.” Levi grumbled. This was embarrassing.

Eren moved his arms to lift up his new boyfriend. “You’re heavier than I,” Eren gasped out, “expected.”

“It’s all muscle.” Levi proudly admitted while Eren struggled to keep his balance. Something about Eren’s overconfidence in his skills was far more amusing to Levi than it should have been.

“And it’s hot as hell.” Eren huffed out, shifting Levi in his arms to make it easier to carry him.

“While I’m hot as hell, it’s cold as dicks out here.” Levi shuddered, almost making Eren drop him onto the sidewalk.

“I guess I’ll just have to warm you up then.” Eren smiled as he held Levi closer. He would have taken off his scarf and given it to Levi, but his hands were full as he carried his boyfriend.

“Why are you so tall and warm?” Levi mumbled as he snuggled closer to the human furnace that was carrying him. Eren just chuckled and continued walking. Levi might be heavy, but he felt so perfectly molded for Eren’s arms. He felt like he could carry his boyfriend everywhere, so long as Levi let him of course.

They took nearly twenty minutes to get to the park, because Eren walked slow and carefully to avoid any icy spots. The closer they got to the park, they could hear children screaming in delight and dogs barking as they played in the snow. Eren lowered Levi down so he could walk beside him. Eren took Levi’s hand and lead them to a lonely bench on the outskirts of the park. It was the furthest away from the playground, so they had a little bit of privacy and quiet.

Levi sat next to his boyfriend that he met less than a day ago. It just felt so right, Eren hadn’t felt his at peace in a long time. He hated how quickly Levi had managed to make him so happy, it felt like a trap. But, if this was a trap, and if there was no chance of escaping, he might as well enjoy it. Eren was surprised but delighted to feel Levi rest his head on his shoulder. He glanced down and saw that Levi’s eyes had slipped shut, and he was just enjoying being there with the hunter. While Levi felt calm, Eren felt excited and anxious. His heart was beating it felt as if he could feel the beating of two hearts.

Despite it being the middle of winter, delicate, blue forget-me-nots were growing through the harsh snow. It was a miracle that they were still alive. How could anything survive without something that it desperately needed? Did it persevere in hope of finding its reason for living, never doubting that it would find it again?

Eren reached out and tugged on one of the stems until it snapped. Holding it up to his face, he smiled fondly.

“They’re supposed to symbolize true love.” Eren said dreamily, twirling the flower between two fingers. He took a bottle out from his coat pocket and put some hand sanitizer on the flower.

“What are you doing?” Levi slowly opened his eyes, staring at the flower.

“I didn’t think you’d let me put it in your hair if it wasn’t reasonably clean.” Eren explained, drying the flower with a tissue.

Levi’s brows furrowed when he thought about Eren putting flowers in his hair. “You were going to put it in my hair?”

“I was hoping to weave it into your hair.” Eren blushed, opting to stare at the petals, rather than looking Levi in the eyes.

Levi dug through his coat’s pocket and pulled out a comb and handed it to Eren before turning his back to him. Eren decided to assume that meant Levi was allowing him to put the flowers in his hair. He ran the brush through his short hair a few times before grabbing more flowers and cleaning them off. He slid the first flower into Levi’s raven locks and wrapped the silky hair around it. He repeated the process with the rest of the flowers in his lap. “So, when did you learn to weave flowers into hair?” Levi asked breaking the silence.

The question caught Eren off guard, but he answered him regardless. “Back in Germany, my mother taught me how. I knew another man who loved to wear flowers in his hair, I practiced on him…” Eren’s voice trailed off as he reminisced on happy memories from years ago.

Levi didn’t push him to talk about the other man, but still felt a twang of jealousy in his heart. He loved to wear flowers in his hair as well, in fact, his first boyfriend used to make Levi flower crowns as well. It was an odd coincidence that didn’t seem to sit well with him. He tried to think about it, but he could never fully grasp the thoughts and premonitions that lay before him. He felt his head suddenly become lighter and he felt oddly distant.

Eren’s bright, mirthful laughter pulled him back into the present. “Oh, you look so beautiful.”

Levi rolled his eyes at Eren’s dreamy expression and took out his compact mirror out of his pocket. He rotated the mirror around his face to appreciate Eren’s work, and in true Levi fashion he gave Eren his highest praise.

“Not bad.” Levi nodded and pocketed the mirror.

The hunter frowned a bit. “Not bad? You look stunning, your majesty.”

“So, what, I’m your queen now?” Levi lifted a brow as he turned his head around to see the Eren’s flushed face.

Eren awkwardly rubbed the nape of his neck. “Well, you are wearing a flower crown.”

“Hm.” Levi hummed, something in his silver eyes seemed aggravated and just plain frustrated with Eren’s words. So, Eren decided to be quiet for the rest of their outing. Levi didn’t seem mad at him, per se, almost as if he was mad at his situation.

By the time Levi wanted to leave, the ice had melted off the sidewalk, and he was able to walk home without Eren’s assistance. It upset Eren that Levi wanted to walk alone. Something was wrapped around his heart and tried to pull him towards Levi. He couldn’t help but feel the need to be with Levi and protect him from the dangers that lurked in the quiet, unassuming town. But, Eren respected his love’s wishes and let him be. He knew Levi well enough to assume that he was the type to need some solitude to crawl into every now and then.

He whistled as he walked to the library. He knew Mikasa and Armin would be waiting for him with a few other hunters, who were going to be in town to check in on them.

The surgical lights were blinding as they shone down on the corpse. They had barely allowed for the body to cool before they started to slice him open. Deaths were rare in such a small town. Almost every single death in this town was of natural causes. But, there’s a first time for everything.

“From observing the long lacerations in his cervical region, he must have been attacked by a demon. And a powerful one at that. The gashes were most likely made by three and a half inch talons. As we all know, only the royal demons have talons larger than an inch.” Hanji observed, poking and prodding at the body on the table. Their gloves were blood soaked as they compared the different wounds on the man.

“He was without a doubt a victim of the Queen.” Hanji nodded glancing over at their notes on the counter behind them. “Which means the seal on the Queen’s nape is wearing off faster than we predicted. The Queen wasn’t supposed to have claws for at least another twenty years…”

“But according to the traitor’s journal, the Queen’s claws are only two inches. It’s more likely that this was the work of the King.” Armin countered.

Hanji sighed quietly. “We call it ‘the traitor’s journal’ for a reason. We can’t use that as an honest source of information. I won’t tell Erwin that you’ve read it, but any copy of that journal is strictly prohibited and should be burned for safety reasons.”  
“Also, the King has not been heard from for nearly a hundred years.” Mikasa mumbled. She didn’t look Armin, but kept her eyes trained on the corpse in front of her.

Armin grew more agitated. How could people who were so smart, be so blind and oblivious. “Just because he hasn’t shown up in a hundred years doesn’t mean that he won’t show up today. And yet-”

Armin’s voice died out as the door slammed open. “Hey, sorry I was late.” Eren interrupted, arriving several hours late with only a cup of coffee in his hands.

“Eren, where were you?” Mikasa crossed her arms, her blood covered gloves only intimidated Eren more. He knew Mikasa just wanted him to be safe, but she was looking straight scary as shit right now. Well, at least more than usual.

“I was in the park with Levi.” Eren mumbled quietly and looked away.

“We needed you.” Hanji growled. They were happy for Eren, but anything that got in their way of their work endlessly annoyed them.

Armin didn’t look so happy either.

“I’m sorry guys.” He took a step forward to pick some gloves off the counter and join them in their observations, but a hand gently gripped his shoulder and startled the hell out of him.

“Eren, can I speak with you in private?” The gentle, yet deep voice was familiar to Eren, and he relaxed if only fractionally.

“Yes, commander.” Eren mumbled and turned to follow his superior out of the lab.

Eren obediently followed Erwin out of the room and up the library’s stairs. It was thanks to Hanji that they had this tiny base inside the town’s library. They worked as a perfect scout. They went ahead and scoped out the town, and reported back whether they needed to move on, or if they needed to focus their efforts there. Hanji had been moved to this town a few months prior and had taken on the cover of a new librarian. Not only had Hanji been enjoying their new location, but they had also narrowed down where the Queen was.

Eren’s heart beat wildly when they had received Hanji’s message telling them that the Queen was definitely lurking near this quiet, sleepy, town. He had spent his entire demon hunting career waiting to hear that.  
Erwin was quick to order Eren and his tiny, close-knit squad to set up camp by the town. Thanks to Eren’s “ability”, Erwin knew that he would be their best bet to track down and eventually overcome the Demon Queen. 

Erwin put his hand on Eren’s shoulder and lead him into a smaller room of the library. He locked the door behind him and sat down on one of the sofas in the room.

“Sit down, Eren.” Eren sat down next to his leader and let out a shaky breath. He was well aware that his performance had been lackluster these past few days.

Erwin took a deep breath through his nose before getting to the point. “I know you’ve found someone you fancy, but don’t let them get in the way of our operations again. I don’t want to have to be the bad guy of the situation and say that you can’t keep seeing them, just don’t let it get in the way. Understood?”

Eren simply nodded his head.

“Our work is vital to the survival of the human race. We have to be willing to make sacrifices to gain victories. Sometimes those are merely sacrifices of time, sometimes you have to sacrifice a relationship or a friendship. If you feel like you are putting your lover above the Survey Corps, then you need to leave them.” The commander once again rested his hand on Eren’s shoulder. He took another deep, calming breath before continuing. “When you joined the Scouts you were so ready to find the Queen. Where did that determination go?” Eren remained silent while his superior kept lecturing him. “I’m glad you found someone you’re happy with, but is it really worth losing track of the Queen?”

“I’ll think about what you’ve said, sir.” Eren whispered, his eyes cloudy and full of thought. Erwin recognized that the scout was probably feeling many conflicting emotions, and decided not to press further.

“Good.” He nodded. “Eren, I expect you’ll be working extra hard to make up for the loss of time, yes?” The commander patted his shoulder, and got off the sofa. 

“Yes, sir.” Eren replied and saluted to Erwin. 

“You’re dismissed.”

Eren got up quickly and left the room. He wandered the halls until he was back in the main portion of the library. He started to walk towards the exit, he really just wanted to go back to the café and listen to Levi sing again.

“Hey, Eren!” His head turned to see Armin and Mikasa sitting in some comfy chairs reading some books.

“Hey!” Eren greeted back, his smile grew as he walked over to his friends.

Armin gently closed his book and put it on his lap. “Do you wanna go get some lunch together? We haven’t really hung out in a while.”

“We can get cheeseburgers.” Mikasa added.

Eren rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, that sounds great.” He lied. He cared about his friends, but he wanted to see Levi instead.

Mikasa tried to ignore the red tinge in the tips of her friend’s ears, she knew Eren was lying.

Armin went on and on about the book he was reading earlier. He believed that it might hold important clues on the Demon Queen’s origins. “We always consider the demons to be a completely different kind of creature, but we never really stop to wonder if they were human before. This book I checked out has a complete history of the worst kings and queens in history. There’s a few queens that match Ivel’s description in here!” Armin rambled on about his theories.

Mikasa tried to listen, but she kept getting distracted by how little Eren seemed to be paying attention. It bothered her. He wasn’t acting like the hunter he used to be.

They walked into the diner and sat down at one of the booths. Armin’s voice lowered, but he was still talking about the evil queens throughout history.

Mikasa unzipped her jacket as she warmed up. She took a look through the diner’s menu. Like many small-town diners, it had some weird choices on it. Some sounded interesting, others had descriptions that made Mikasa’s stomach churn. She ended up hoping that their simple turkey club would taste good. Armin ended up choosing a nice warm soup to help him warm up, he was always naturally cold and often turned to warm food and beverages to help him. And of course, Eren ordered something that had always been a comfort food to him, a cheeseburger.

Armin ended his one-sided conversation by simply stating that demons may have an origin that isn’t quite so supernatural.

Since the diner wasn’t too busy, their food came out rather quickly.

“God, this looks amazing.” Eren moaned as he picked up his cheeseburger. The bacon looked crisp, the cheese looked perfectly melted, and the bun was golden.

“Eren, you look like you’re going to cry.” Armin giggled.

“I think I might.” Eren agreed, “it’s been so long since I’ve had a decent meal.” Mikasa and Armin nodded and thought back to their nasty rations that they usually got to call their “dinner”. This shitty old diner seemed like a king’s buffet to them.

“I have something to announce actually.” Eren smiled, rubbing his nape. “I’m going to ask Levi to marry me.” Armin choked on his soup, thankfully Mikasa was there to help him breathe and regain his bearings.

“Eren, like two days ago, we joked about you doing that. You said you wouldn’t pop the question that fast.” Armin couldn’t tell if Eren was joking. He sure didn’t seem to be. “He may look like a Disney princess, but I don’t think that he would get married to someone in less than a week. Unless he married for money, but in our case, we don’t have to worry about that.” The Survey Corps was a job taken by those who had a passion for eradicating demons, not those who wanted to line their pockets. This job paid poorly.

“I don’t think you should keep seeing Levi.” Mikasa said calmly, looking into her brother’s eyes. She did not want to start a fight over this, but Eren needed to think clearly.

“And I don’t think you should be making judgements on people you don’t know much about,” Eren fired back.

“Eren, I don’t trust him.” Mikasa tried to keep her voice down, this was a public restaurant after all.

“But I do!” Eren cried, curling his hand into a fist.

“There’s something off about him.” Mikasa said, grabbing her brother’s hand from underneath the table.

“Just because he wears pastel colors doesn’t mean he’s a monster, Mikasa.” He tried to shake her hand off of his, but she was adamant in trying to comfort him.

“You don’t know him at all, Eren.”

“I know him better than you could ever imagine.” Eren said, the fiery anger in his eyes was replaced with an over confident, self-reassured look. He genuinely believed he knew Levi.

“You’re losing sight of what’s important!” Mikasa hissed, she hated arguing with her brother, but for fucks sake, he wasn’t thinking clearly.

“No, I’m not. I finally know what I’m doing, and-”  
“So, how’s the food so far.” The waitress came back with her tray, and quickly realized what she had walked into. “Um, I’ll come back later.”

“Actually, can I get a cheeseburger to go?” Eren asked calmly as if he wasn’t just having a heated argument with his friends.

“Medium-Rare cheeseburger to go?” The waitress looked nervous, but wrote down his order regardless.

Eren’s eyes flicked to a couple sitting at the counter sharing a drink together. He couldn’t help but think of the beautiful man he was proud to call his boyfriend. “Could you throw in a strawberry Milkshake as well?”  
-  
Eren let himself into Levi’s apartment, a little worried that Levi just kept it unlocked all the time. Perhaps it was because the town was small and secure. Or maybe Levi left it like that to dare anyone to try and hurt him. To give him a chance to show the world how vicious he could be. Of course, Eren was only joking with that last thought.

He smiled warmly as the warm embrace of hearty cinnamon greeted him. It had always been one of Levi’s favorites. He stepped out of the entrance hallway into Levi’s small kitchen. The copper pots and pans glinted as the rays of the setting sun fell upon them. The glittering light danced on the birch cabinets that lined the walls. More importantly, they also danced across Levi’s back. Eren was in awe. It was such a simple thing, to have light be reflected on to someone, but it made Levi look enchanting as he stared out of a window.

As soon as Eren took one step onto the clay tile, Levi’s head snapped in his direction. His eyes were wide and alert with a hand over his heart. “I didn’t hear you come in.” Levi let out a deep breath and glanced out the window once more before giving Eren his full attention. “How was work?”

“It was fine, kind of boring today.” The plastic bag in Eren’s hands crinkled loudly as he placed it down on the counter. “I brought some food home.”

He smiled, trying to ease Levi’s nerves a little.

“You still haven’t told me what your job was, by the way.” Levi raised a brow before putting his lips on the straw.

The hunter rubbed the nape of his neck and let out a heavy breath. “I’ll get to that, it’s just hard to explain.”

Levi’s eyebrows furrowed as he put down his drink and stepped closer to his boyfriend. “It’s not something that bad, is it?”

Eren just chuckled and stoked Levi’s cheek. “Are you worried that I killed people for money?”

“That’d kinda be hot, I’m not going to lie.” He said honestly, looking deeply into Eren’s eyes, searching for something. Something that Eren did not know.

“And I’m not gonna lie, either. I’m worried you’ll hate me if I told you.” Something in Levi’s expression changed, but Eren couldn’t tell what it was.

Levi pulled away from the hunter’s touch. “Have your other lovers hated you because of it?”

It hurt to see Levi pull away, so Eren wrapped his arms around him and held him closer. “Actually, you’re the only one I’ve ever thought about having a relationship with.”

“Well, I’m flattered.” The shorter man barely smiled, but relaxed in his lover’s arms as Eren pressed a kiss to his forehead. They stood there in the kitchen while Levi’s milkshake started to melt and Eren’s cheeseburger started to get cold, but they didn’t care.


	3. Third Movement

Silence hung heavy in the forest clearing as Mikasa set to work fixing one of their broken heaters. It had shut off without warning sometime in the middle of the night. She was lucky to have woken up. The ice that still lingered in her bones slowed her movements significantly. Her numbed fingers struggled to grip the screwdriver as she took apart the machine.

So far, she had not noticed any frayed wires or damaged circuitry. There were no signs of general wear and tear, every piece of it was where it should be. It looked like it was in prime condition. Mikasa’s brows furrowed, her slow breaths clouded up her vision as she leaned in closer to observe the heater.

Before she could get a good look, she felt something. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing perfectly straight, her eyes slowly scanning the area. Without taking her eyes off of the trees around her, she reached out her hand to the cold forest ground. Her fingers brushed against the frozen dirt, moving slowly as she kept calm.

The moment she touched the cold metal handle of her gun, she grasped a hold of it. She wasted no time whipping it up and pointing it at the darkness of the forest around her. Without the birds in the sky, or the squirrels running through the branches above them, she could hear someone breathing yards away from the clearing.

She could only vaguely see a silhouette of someone approaching from her right. It could have just been Armin or Eren, but it didn’t feel like them. She didn’t hear Armin’s off beat whistling or Eren’s muttering under his breath.

Her arms started to tremor ever so slightly as the tension started to manifest in her joints. She adjusted her arm ever so slightly to prevent it from locking up. The gun was a heavy comfort in her hand. It wouldn’t kill a demon, but it could most certainly make it bleed. Not to mention, the gunshot might be loud enough to alert the other hunters.

The rustling of leaves grew louder as Mikasa steeled herself for a battle that would never come. She recognized Eren’s parka through the heavy foliage just before he pushed his way into the clearing. He was just quiet today it seemed. She quickly lowered her firearm and tried to pretend she wasn’t ready to shoot her friend.

If he had noticed Mikasa pointing the gun at him, he most certainly didn’t mention it. He stumbled towards his tent and lazily dropped his valuable bag of supplies next to it. He didn’t say a word as he sat next to Mikasa and looked curiously at the dismantled heater.

“It just stopped working, and I can’t figure out why,” she explained, still a little tense. Her she still had her freezing fingers wrapped around the handle of the gun, but she kept it to her side. Something still felt different about the forest around them. It couldn’t hurt to be cautious.

“You could just take mine,” Eren offered, glancing back to his own barely used tent. There was a silent understanding between the both of them that Eren wouldn’t really need it anyways. Eren had the luxury of sleeping inside of Levi’s apartment.

“Thank you,” Mikasa all but whispered as she pulled her scarf tighter around her mouth. Her mind tried to make her remember when Eren gave her that scarf, but she quickly pushed the memory back. She already missed Eren whenever he was bonding with Levi, but she was happy for him. She really was.

She just wished that Eren would share some of his time with his friends too.

“Before you leave tonight, do you wanna watch a movie with me and Armin?” She picked up the heater’s vent screen and rested it on top of the heater as Eren considered it. “We can pull out Armin’s old laptop and watch a horror movie like we always used to.” She picked up the loose screws and tools and put them in a pile to put away later.

“That sounds great actually.” Eren smiled and let his entire body relax as the tense aura around Mikasa melted away.

“I think we lost a few of the disks since last movie night, but-”

“Anything would be great, Mika, honestly.” Eren reassured her, very well aware of what she was trying to do. Maybe it was unfair that he mostly wanted to be with Levi anymore. He couldn’t really justify it, but he wasn’t ashamed of it.

Mikasa felt a grin spread underneath her scarf as she looked up at the grey sky.  
-  
Armin was trembling under his blanket as the movie’s music turned sinister. The screeching violins accompanied a chilling chase scene. The poor victim was being chased down by a shadowy murderer. She struggled to keep her footing as she tried to run for her life. He jumped at every sound around them. Perhaps watching horror movies in a dark, supernaturally-affected forest wasn’t the best idea.

Mikasa was perfectly still as she stared at the laptop’s screen. Real life or death situations didn’t get under her skin quite as much as movies do. For some reason, she felt dread in the very depths of her stomach as she felt powerless to help the woman. The killer finally caught his prey and started to brutally slash at her neck. Mikasa wanted to look away, but she felt transfixed as Armin cowered.

Eren felt his mind wander away from the screen. What was Levi doing right now? Was he cleaning his apartment? Maybe he was cooking. Or maybe Levi was wondering where he was. He looked at his friends, the laptop’s light casting an odd glow onto their face. He glanced back at the trees behind them. Their shadows were projected onto the tree line, making them look larger than they really were. The moon and stars above them were barely visible through the thick leafy canopy above them.

He couldn’t help but wonder if they would be killed and forgotten much like the woman on the screen. They lived lives of secrecy to protect humanity, they didn’t have much to their names. If they died, who would be left to remember them? Would this forest remember them? Did anyone in this small, cut-off town even care if they vanished? Or would they feel relief that the peculiar forest was free from mysterious campers?

Eren nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand was trembling ever so slightly, and Eren could already guess it was Armin. “Why are you not scared?” Armin whispered, trying not to disturb Mikasa’s trance-like state. “I thought this shit usually got to you.”

Eren couldn’t keep looking into Armin’s questioning stare and looked back towards the small, isolated city. “I already know who the murderer is, and I already know how it’s going to end.” He said simply. He had seen this all before.  
\---  
Eren drummed his fingers on the door frame of Levi’s bedroom, glancing at the beautiful man on the bed nervously. Levi was wrapped up in a mountain of blankets, quietly sipping some Earl Grey tea while reading some book in a language Eren couldn’t understand. Eren sighed and got Levi’s attention. The older man glanced up over the rim of his tea cup and raised a brow. “Levi, we need to talk.” Eren tried to keep his nervousness from flooding into his voice.

Eren could see the anxiety in his eyes as a sense of dread and confusion washed over him. “About what?” Levi said quietly.

“Come with me.” Eren stretched out his hand for Levi to take. Levi glanced between Eren’s hand and the window, his thoughts hidden from Eren as he attempted to keep his neutral mask. He sighed a moment later before putting the cup of tea on the nightstand and putting a bookmark in his book.

Despite being under so many blankets, Levi’s hand was still as cold as ice. Thankfully, Eren’s naturally warmer body temperature helped to balance them out as Levi followed Eren down the hallway. Levi grew more nervous as Eren led them to the front door, and more confused as Eren helped him put on his coat and opened the apartment’s door for him.

“I thought you said we needed to talk.” Levi said and grabbed Eren’s arm as he walked out.

Eren said nothing in reply and just kept walking away from the apartment.

“Where are we going?” Levi asked and was only answered with silence. “Eren?”

“It’s fine, Levi, just come with me.” Eren tried to reassure Levi as they walked down the sidewalk into town. The winter night bit at Levi’s nose while they walked, and Levi huffed in annoyance with Eren’s behavior.

They walked past the library, the diner, some of the stores, and stopped in front of the small little historical society museum the small town. It was a peculiar place for a museum. This town didn’t have that large of a population and rarely received any tourists and visitors. Everything in this museum would only be seen by a handful of people. Maybe it was better off that way.

“Eren.” Levi tugged on Eren’s sleeve to try and get his attention, but Eren didn’t so much as spare him a glance and pushed the doors open.

Levi followed him in with a huff and closed the door behind him. The art was amazing, but Levi was still on edge. The old floor creaked and groaned under his boots as Eren lead him deeper into the building. A soothing musty scent enveloped them. Levi tried to ignore the cobwebs and dust.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Eren said observing a nearby stature passively. Levi’s brows furrowed as he glared at the back of Eren’s head.

Levi’s nerves got the better of him and he snarled. “What the fuck are you hiding from me, Eren?”

“I…” Eren’s voice trailed off as he turned around to face his boyfriend. He nervously tugged on his bottom lip with his teeth, stumbling to give Levi an explanation. “I’m a…” Levi raised a brow, waiting. “I’m a demon hunter.” Eren finally whispered, almost a shamed as the silence that hung between them made his heart race.

“You’re a demon hunter?” Panic and confusion slipped through Levi’s façade as he took a step back from Eren. “Do you think I’m a dumbass?” Levi growled and let go of Eren’s jacket. “You have to be kidding me.” Levi turned to storm out of the museum, but Eren gently grabbed his shoulder.

“I’m not actually.” Eren sighed and looked into Levi’s eyes, pleading him not to turn and flee.

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sharp breath. “I’m going to need a moment to process this.”

“Take all the time you need.” Eren smiled reassuringly and wrapped his arm around Levi’s shoulders and walked past works of art with him. It was tempting to call Levi a work of art as well, but Eren didn’t want to push his luck more than he already had.

They walked side by side through the hallways looking at the art on the wall in awe and contemplation. Normally, Eren would have been bouncing around the building dragging Levi around to show him his favorite works, but anxiety worked like a ball and chain around his ankle and kept him walking slowly next to Levi.

“So, uh, you actually hunt demons?” Levi shattered the silence with a quiet question, it was almost as if he didn’t want Eren to answer him. And yet, Eren did.

“Yes.” He said calmly, not meeting Levi’s eyes. Guilt racked his chest as he prepared himself to tell part of the truth that he hid from Levi this entire time.

“Like, demons in general?” When brief silence lingered after his question, Levi cleared his throat and continued. “Or are there specific ones?” Levi asked leaning against Eren as they walked, trying to help calm his obviously nervous boyfriend. He could at least hear Eren through, even if he didn’t believe him. Eren deserved at least that much.

Eren nodded his head slowly, thinking of a safe answer. “Some of us hunt demons wherever they find them, I’m tasked with hunting down very specific ones.”

“By specific demons, do you mean like the devil himself?” Levi asked trying to get a better idea of what the literal fuck Eren was really talking about. Pop culture was never the best gateway into understanding something, but it was all someone like Levi should be able to work off of.

“Satan’s just a myth.” Eren chuckled and looked down at his boyfriend who was staring back up at him with inquisitive eyes.

“Is that so?” Levi took Eren’s hand as they kept walking, it made Eren’s heart beat so loudly that it felt like there were two hearts in his chest.

“You’re taking this very well.” Eren was shocked, but very glad nonetheless.

“I’m just trying to keep an open mind, I guess. I’ve seen a lot of shit in my life, it would be nice to know that it’s not just humans to blame.” Levi shrugged. “Is there some bastard that’s supposed to be in charge of all of this shit?”

“Yes, there is, he’s simply referred to as the Demon King.”

Levi let out a tiny incredulous snicker, “The Demon King? Why don’t you tell me about him?”

Eren nodded and took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. “Very little is known about the Demon King. He is not the first king, but he did not overthrow the king before him. It is believed that his Queen surrendered the throne to him without a fight. He is associated sometimes with the name Ludwig, but there is no evidence to show that he is actually called that anymore.

During the 1500’s it is believed that the Demon King was responsible for the sinking of nearly fifty European ships carrying priceless jewels and gold. Only a handful of sailors survived. They described the king as a titanic monster rising from the ocean with eyes that glowed like the sun, horns of a ram, and giant wings made of pure gold. One sailor claimed that it was the Leviathan, but most claimed it was a demon. Since very little of the gold was recovered from the wreckages, most believe that the King took it for himself. So perhaps drowning the sailors was not his original goal, but many believe that he did it for his own amusement.

A few people have claimed to have seen him in a more human like form. Numerous accounts from Italy, France, and Germany. In all of the sightings he was stealing something of value or something with royal significance. Everyone who has claimed to see him has said that his eyes are like molten gold, shining through the darkness that he lingers in. He’s also said to be devilishly handsome.

However, after the Raid there have been very few disturbances from him. Perhaps he was overthrown without his Queen.”

“So, what’s the queen like?” He asked not quite looking directly at Eren, but rather focusing on the art around them.

Eren kept reciting information as if he was a standard issue Survey Corps textbook. “T the Demon Queen, is bloodthirsty and wicked, but loyal to the grave. Ivel is thought to be the strongest demon there is. There are little to no records of him coming to the over-world, but most say that his eyes are as red as the blood he spills.”

“Isn’t the king the strongest?” Levi asked unzipping his jacket a little to get a little bit more comfortable.

“We call the king the most powerful because his strength comes from demonic power. The Queen is considered the strongest because his strength comes from his physical strength and intelligence. So, the Queen relies on his own strength, the King relies on his demonic powers. Both are still quite deadly.”

“Sounds like they would be a power couple to say the least.” Levi deadpanned, as if he was unaware of his own shitty joke.

Eren could not hold back a snort and elbowed Levi a bit as they continued down the hallway. “Yeah, the Corps feared the power that the King and Queen had together, so they took nearly a hundred years of preparation before sending in a raid on hell. Whether or not the King and Queen actually did love each other, they worked well together. Only one scout survived the experience, and died moments after telling the rest of the Corps of their victory. The raid managed to place a seal on the Queen’s neck, trapping him into his human form and subsequently sending him back to the over-world.”

“Many greater demons serve no one but themselves and tend to wander around on their own. Few actually observe the reign of the King and Queen. Even though they rule over hell, they don’t actually do much.”

“So, you mentioned some kind of Corps?”

“Oh, yes, the Survey Corps. It founded in the ninth century. I can’t remember the exact year though. Its sole purpose is to protect humanity from demons. The Corps has scouts all over the world constantly on the lookout for demonic activity. Despite being a very ancient military division, we pride ourselves in our technological advancements.”

“How can you use technology to hunt demons?”

“It’s difficult, but possible. I don’t really understand all of it,” Eren sheepishly admitted, rubbing his nape, “but my friend Armin could explain all of it to you.” They turned down another corridor lined with a few older paintings. “Then there’s our leader, Commander Erwin Smith. He’s in charge of all of the Survey Corps. And I have the honor of knowing him personally.”

“Wait, are there a lot of scouts or like twenty. Because if there’s only five of these assholes than it would make sense why you would know the leader personally." Levi didn’t really care about the leader of this shit show, but he wondered just how many people had given themselves to this cause. This all sounded insane, surely only a few people would believe this shit.

“Well, I don’t know the exact number. But I’m sure that there’s thousands of people who are willing to risk their lives to protect humanity. And besides, I don’t work directly under him, but I work in Squad leader Hanji Zoe’s squad.”

“Shit, Hanji’s a hunter too? I just thought they were a nosy librarian.” How many people in this damn shit hole town were in on this shit. They had always been poking into everyone’s business and all but asking for their life stories. At some point it had become a game to Levi to lie to them about his life with more and more ridiculous stories.

“Libraries are common places for demon hunters to lurk in. It’s a fantastic cover and a great source of information,” Eren said as if it was obvious to everyone but Levi.

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an aggravated huff. Every fucking thing he thought he knew about this quiet town seemed to be unravelling before him. “Fuckin’ four-eyes will tell me all about their bowel movements, but not that they hunt demons for a living. That still doesn’t answer how you know personally the commander of an entire military branch.”

“That’s because I’m ‘humanity’s last hope’.” Eren smiled, proud of his absurd title. “They call me humanity’s last hope, because all demons cower before me.”

“Seriously?” Levi scoffed and kept walking down the hall.

“I am serious,” he insisted and stepped in front of Levi. “I can just sense them near me.” Levi’s face paled by a fraction, but didn’t give in to the overwhelming desire to take a step back. A corner of Eren’s mouth twitched upward as he looked down at Levi. “Well, I can actually only sense weaker demons, but it’s still incredibly useful.”

Eren took Levi’s hand and gently guided him out of the main hallway. The lights above them flickered briefly, making the atmosphere much less romantic than Eren had wanted. When his head turned away from his boyfriend, Levi closed his eyes and took in a breath to steady himself.

 

With his free hand, Eren patted the front of his parka to check that its contents were still in there.

“So, I’m assuming Armin and Mikasa are involved in this as well?” Levi shattered the stress filled silence.

“Yup. I met them when I joined the scouts. Armin especially got me into the lore and history with a copy of the Traitor’s journal.

“The Traitor”- Originally thought to be one of the greatest demon hunters, he

“So then why did you join them?” Levi asked, continuing to admire the masterpieces on the wall.

“Hunting down the demon Queen is a very personal mission of mine.” Eren said with a determination that could make even the strongest man quiver.

Levi stilled a shiver that ran through him. The room had gotten terribly cold at a moment’s notice. Levi could feel it in the tips of his fingers the most. Levi wanted to blame it on damn old buildings and their shitty heating systems. “But I thought you said the Queen was dead?”

“Oh no, the seal trapped him in a human form. Most demonic human forms can still use their powers, but since he’s trapped in that form, he can’t use his powers. But that means he’d appear to be an ordinary human, making him nearly impossible to find.” The demon hunter explained as he took a closer look at a painting of a giant forest.

“Then how the fuck are you going to find him?” Levi scoffed. To an ordinary person, Eren must sound like a raving, frothing lunatic. Yet, Levi knew Eren was telling the truth. And Levi was far from ordinary.

“It’s not going to be easy. I’ve already been all around the world looking for him, but I’m glad that I’m finally here in this town.” He said turning to face Levi and gaze deeply into his stormy grey eyes. The dim lights above them made his irises glisten as Eren’s hand cupped his cheek.

“What do you mean?” Levi’s brows furrowed further. This town was as boring as it was small, Levi could barely stand how quiet and unassuming it was.

Eren’s smile grew fonder and stroked Levi’s cheekbone with his thumb. “I’m glad that I found you.” The gentle blush that spread across Levi’s face was enough to prompt him to lean in closer.

“Eren, you god damned sappy bastard.” Levi mumbled and looked away as Eren kissed his cheek.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” The hunter took Levi by the hand and lead him towards one of the more poorly lit areas of the hall. The gentle calm that had swept over Levi quickly left as his brows furrowed once more. At the very end of the hall hung a painting. There wasn’t a single other piece of art in the hall. It was as if it was a new addition. “This is one of my favorite paintings. It showed up in this town very recently. The curator said that it was just donated anonymously a few months ago.”

Inside the polished oak frame, was what appeared to be a medieval painting. It was old, terribly old. The cracked paint, distorted colors, and lack of accurate proportions made it look absolutely ancient. The painting depicted two people covered in blood, both of them were wearing long purple robes and golden bands around their heads.

“Jesus, Eren, isn’t that a little fucked up?” Levi whispered, his eyes glancing down at the plaque on the frame. The painting was simply titled “King Ludwig and Carolus c. 1200 CE”. “Wait, ‘King Ludwig’? Didn’t you say that might be the demon king’s name?”

“Yes, even the descriptions of both of them are vaguely similar.” Eren simply nodded, not taking his eyes off of the piece of history in front of them.

“So….” Levi’s voice trailed off in the heavy silence of the room. “Do you think this means demons used to be people?”

“I know they used to be.” Eren said with a level of somber confidence that made Levi’s skin crawl.

Levi pulled his eyes away from Eren’s and focused them back onto the painting. “So then could Carolus be the Queen?”

“Without a doubt.”

King Ludwig and Queen Carolus were believed to have ruled a small kingdom in what’s now Germany during the ninth century. There are no official records of how Carolus came into the picture, but Ludwig inherited the throne from his father, King Ludovicus, who wasn’t exactly loved by the people. When young maidens started to disappear from all around the kingdom, the people blamed King Ludovicus.

The people of the kingdom believed when Ludwig took the throne, he would be a just and kind ruler. The people realized their mistake when it was discovered that Ludwig was the one who was truly responsible for the death of the maidens. Some believed that he bathed in their blood for the purpose of extending his life. Some historians believe that he might have been an inspiration for Mary Tudor.

People were outraged when Carolus became Queen, mostly because of the rampant and historical homophobia. People claimed that he was a witch who hexed Ludwig into killing people and making Carolus Queen. Others believed that Carolus was the devil himself.

Eventually as they were about to be overthrown by their own kingdom, the King and Queen killed themselves. According to legend, Carolus killed himself first and asked Ludwig to devour his heart.

“They had no lineage or children, so the royal line ended there.” They both remained silent as Eren allowed Levi some time to process it all. Who knew how much of it was true. Medieval scholars weren’t exactly an unbiased source of information, and Eren doubted that the Corps hadn’t stretched the truth every now and then. No matter the truth that lay behind it, it could easily convince anyone that they were a threat. “Fascinating, isn’t it?”

“I…” Levi’s mouth stayed open as his eyes swept over the painting. “I don’t really know what to say to that.”

“I didn’t expect you to.” Eren took Levi’s cold hands into his own and captured his silver gaze.

Eren was strange, very strange.

“I love you, Levi.”

But Levi didn’t say anything, he just gave Eren a gentle smile in reply.

“I’ve been around the world constantly searching for something, and it’s all lead me to you.” Eren gently took one of Levi’s hands in his own and offered him a small, genuine smile.

Levi’s anxiety from before started to build up within his chest. He swallowed his words as he just stared as Eren went on.

“I could spend an eternity with you by my side. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” Eren’s smile grew fond as he lifted the back of his hand to Levi’s cheek. Brushing a few hairs away from Levi’s eyes, Eren couldn’t help but feel lost in them. He let go of Levi’s hand and pulled a small wooden box out of his coat pocket.

The box was made from perfectly carved walnut wood. Graceful foliage coiled around the box’s frame, covering every inch of it. The woven branches and leaves were crafted by the hands of a master artisan and looked almost inhumanely possible to create. Subtle gold accents lay beneath the wooden details adding another layer of unnatural beauty.

It seemed hauntingly familiar.

Eren stroked Levi’s cheek one more time before retrieving his hand and clasping it around the lid of the box. He slowly opened it as he lowered one knee to the discolored oak floor. A golden ring rested inside, cushioned by blood red velvet. The fabric seemed to shine more than the ring did. The slender band looked crude and damaged by the hands of time themselves. It clearly used to have the same level of intricacy as the wooden box, but the metal had been damaged presumably over the course of hundreds of years. A relatively large garnet or perhaps ruby stone was set into the middle of the band, surrounded by six small emeralds.

 

“Please, you’re the love of my life, Levi.” Eren’s eyes matched the emeralds as they silently begged Levi. “Will you marry me?”

The tension inside of Levi’s chest came to its head as he lifted his cold hands to cover his gaping mouth. His eyes widened as he shook his head slightly in disbelief. “Oh my God,” he whispered into his fingers. He had never expected Eren to be this forward. Perhaps against better judgement, Levi offered Eren his hand.

Eren’s smile only grew as he took the medieval ring out of the wooden box and set it down on the ground. He took Levi’s hand and delicately slid the metal band over his ring finger. He had to exert a little bit more force to get the ring past his second knuckle. It was a perfect fit.

Eren brought his lips to the ring and gently kissed it before looking up into Levi’s eyes. Levi’s brows were furrowed. His eyes were trained on that ancient ring, wondering where Eren could have found something like that.

“Levi, you’re so beautiful,” Eren sighed happily. He pocketed the wooden box before standing up. His joints cracked quietly as he stood taller than Levi.

Levi looked dazed as he stared into his fiancé’s eyes. He could feel a memory constantly threatening to resurface, but never fully coming into his consciousness. It eluded his cognizant grasp. An echo of his past played through his mind, but something was preventing it from making any sense to him. The answer was in front of him. He could not see it.

Eren wrapped his arms around Levi’s shoulders. He gently lead him through the doorway and out into the frigid winter night. Eren felt so much joy, while Levi could barely feel anything more than disorientation.

Eren gently brushed a few stray hairs away from Levi’s perfect silver eyes.

“Eren-” Levi’s breath caught in his throat. “Eren stop.”

Eren’s reaction was instant and he pulled away. “Are you okay? Did I… Did I hurt you?”

“I’m really just tired, Eren,” Levi let out a short breath and kept his eyes trained on the wall behind Eren, “can we just go to bed?”

Eren hummed and backed away from Levi a bit. The distance was uncomfortable to him. “Can I…,” Eren’s voice trailed off as he tested the waters, “Can I spoon you?”

“Absolutely.” Levi nodded, his voice lacked even the slightest amount of joy. He didn’t sound bitter, harsh, or biting. He just sounded vacant, as if he still didn’t feel like this was really happening.

Eren forced his body to relax, his arm coming to rest on Levi’s hip. His breathing slowly but surely evened out and gently caressed the back of Levi’s undercut. His body was at peace. His mind was not.

Levi tried to mimic Eren’s fake slumber and just stared at the clock. Everything else in the room disappeared into the grey haze of shadows in his mind. The second hand spent an agonizingly long time making its rounds. He waited. It felt like time was barely crawling along, but he waited.

It took an eternity for the first five minutes to pass.

Then the next five passed.

Levi’s eyes darted between the clock and the bedroom door. One of his fingers twitched and he took in a sharp breath before holding it. Eren’s breathing stayed the same. His body didn’t respond or react. It seemed like he was still asleep. Levi had bought into the charade.

He swallowed before timidly moving his legs over the side of the bed. Eren’s limp arm slid off of his body and landed on the mattress silently. Levi held still for a few moments, monitoring Eren’s breathing. He stared at the clock once more. After a few seconds slipped by, he pushed himself off the bed and stood up. He glanced back at Eren once more, before turning and walking to the door.

Eren’s golden eyes fluttered open and watched Levi silently slink out of the room. He let out a quiet sigh of frustration before letting his eyes slip back shut. Everything would fall into place soon. They just had to wait.

Levi didn’t dare let out the scream of frustration and fear that he was holding deep inside of him. Stumbling into the bathroom, he flicked on the light switched. The piercing, unnatural light hurt his eyes as he gripped the edges of his sink. He couldn’t look up at his own face, not yet.

His eyes held shut as he tried to make sense of all of this. He let the day play in his mind again. Fractured memories ran by him again and again until his head felt like it was splitting in half. His stomach churned, he felt his entire body shudder.

Beads of sweat adorned his forehead as he tried to gain control of his frantic breathing. He couldn’t let Eren hear him. He couldn’t let Eren see him like this.

Eren was full of surprises from the very beginning, but this was too much. Levi’s eyes snapped open as he felt himself starting to heave. His knuckles were white as snow as he tightly gripped the sink. The ring caught his eye and he felt panic set in once more. The golden band on his finger serving as a grim reminder of the gamble he was taking. Of all the rings Eren could pick out, why would he choose this one. Surely, he knew.

His hands trembled as he let go of the sink. Levi held his hands in front of his face briefly.

This wasn’t working.

Levi was losing control of the situation. He was supposed to be the one in charge, not the hunter.

There was still a chance he could make it work.

He had to.

Levi’s shuddering hands wove their way into his hair as his breathing slowed down ever so slightly. His brows pinched tightly as he looked at the reflection in front of him mocked him. He had worked so hard to get here, had he really fucked it up this badly?

The situation was still salvageable, but fuck it would be hard to regain the upper hand.

He needed to breath. He needed to get away from Eren just for the night.

His eyes fluttered over his reflection one more time before he left the room. He didn’t dare look back at the bedroom door. He didn’t stop to check and see if Eren was still asleep.

He simply grabbed his coat, slipped on some boots, and walked out into the night.

-  
Mikasa paced back in forth, her scarf dancing in the infrequent wind that broke through the tree line. They had reestablished camp about a mile away from the one that Eren knew about. Mikasa had fought against this meeting, but her efforts were in vain. There was nothing that could be done. She simply could not convince them. She wasn’t surprised by Erwin and Hanji’s decision, but she was still hurt. However, she felt the sharp knife of betrayal pierce her heart when Armin took their side as well.

Mikasa’s pacing only made Armin more distressed. He glanced at the thermal lantern before standing up and walking away from its comforting heat. Instead, he tried to approach Mikasa.

“How could you agree with them?” She hissed at Armin.

“Mikasa, you know we have to. It’s for the good of humanity.” He tried to reason with her and tried to lead her pacing further down the path. When her little track wouldn’t budge, Armin gave up and turned to walk back to the heater.

“No, you don’t.” Mikasa grabbed his shoulder, roughly turning him to face her. “Armin, you know this isn’t right!”

“Mikasa-” He tried to calm her.

“Don’t you ‘Mikasa’, me.” She growled. “Armin, you were there when the salt spilled on his arm. If Eren was a demon, then it should have hurt him!”

“The more powerful a demon is, the more immune they are. Evidence can’t lie-” Armin was terrified, but he needed to get Mikasa to think clearly. Somehow, Eren had corrupted her senses. He had corrupted all of their senses.

“Well, maybe you’re just reading this all wrong.” She argued. “Eren can’t be a demon.”

“Mikasa-” Armin shook his head, continuing down the path.

“What kind of demon would act as a demon hunter?” Mikasa pointed out angrily, walking beside him as they entered the forest clearing.

“A demon that wants to either throw us off the track, or to destroy us from the inside.” Erwin interrupted their quarrel.

“He’s been playing us like we're his instruments in a devil’s symphony, Mikasa. Can you honestly not see that?” Hanji spat as they organized their inventory, checking to see that they had the proper weapons they would need.

“Eren is nothing but loyal, he’s been one of our friends for ages! He’s family!” Mikasa howled. “Armin, are you going to say nothing? Are you not going to stand up for Eren?”

“Mikasa-” Armin gulped, looking her in the eyes. Tears threatened to fall from his deep blue eyes. “Mikasa, it would be best if you didn’t call it Eren anymore. You’re only hurting yourself by keeping these platonic feelings for the Queen.” He lowered his eyes to the ground, trying to blink away the tears.

Mikasa’s bottom lip quivered, her eyes darting back and forth between the hunters. Her tears dripping down into her blood red scarf. It was a gift from Eren, after he saved her from a demon a few years back. Why would a demon kill another demon to save a human?

“Eren Yeager cannot be the Queen of Hell.” Her voice cracked as she started to weep in full force.

“Enough.” The commander yelled. “In order to destroy him and to protect Levi and other civilians, we must make our move before they wed. We don’t have much time left. We need to have our plan together by midnight.”

“What are you going to do to him?” Mikasa whimpered.

“You already know, Mikasa.” Erwin stated simply, turning to face Hanji, not bothering to look Mikasa in the eyes.

“I can’t-” She struggled to breathe, each breath was laborious. She stumbled back a few steps, her tears blurring her vision. “I can’t go through with this.” She locked eyes with Armin one last time before dashing off into the woods. Armin reached out after her and flutily grasped the air.

“I lost both of my best friends today.” Armin breathed staring at the place Mikasa used to be. They were all he had.

“Sacrifices must be made to protect humanity, Armin.” Erwin rested his hand on the other blonde’s shoulder. “The fact that you’re still here tells me that you are incredibly brave, and you care deeply about the future of mankind.”

Armin wiped away his tears, and strengthened his resolve. “When are we going to know when to attack Ere-.” He corrected himself. “The Queen.”

“When his eyes glow crimson, then we will know for sure that he is the demon queen.”


	4. Fourth Movement

Levi’s head rested in his hands as he stared down at the floor. Things were just… a bit much lately. Eren was starting to become beyond unpredictable, and it was wearing down Levi’s façade. Eren seemed genuinely thrilled to be with Levi, and he almost felt guilty for bringing Eren into this mess.

“So, we’re going with a bouquet of forget-me-nots and the blue candles, right?” Eren smiled as he plopped down a binder full of wedding plans onto the table. He sat down happily next to Levi and lifted his chin.

Levi rubbed his temples and tried to bring himself back to the present. “I think so?”

“What if I wear a classic tuxedo, and you can wear a gorgeous wedding dress?” Eren offered, noticing Levi seemed out of it. He didn’t mention it, and just let Levi be.

“That sounds perfect.” Levi said, nodding his head. He hadn’t truly heard Eren’s words, but simply wanted this to be done with.

“Wait, you’ll wear the dress?” Eren’s face lit up at the idea of Levi bringing his unorthodox fashion tastes to their wedding. He could already imagine Levi marching down the aisle with a beautiful, gauzy veil covering his angelic face.

Levi looked up at Eren with furrowed brows before shrugging. “I don’t see why not.”

Eren gently set the mug down in front of his fiancé and gently cupped his cheek. “Thank you, Levi. You’ll look so beautiful.”

Levi barely even registered Eren’s words, preferring to stay lost in his own thoughts. “How’s hunting the Queen going by the way?” Levi rolled the cheap pen between his fingers, looking out at the grey sky. The clouds were swollen and dark, and it was just cold enough to start snowing.

“Mikasa and Armin claim that they know where the Queen is hiding. Hanji must have finally pinpointed his location.” Eren’s fingers curled around his mug. The heat seeped into his hand, soothing his nerves just a bit.

“So,” Levi tugged on his bottom lip, struggling to think of what to say. “I guess you’ll be going after him soon?”

“I think so.”

“Do you ever worry if the King’s going to come back for his Queen?” Levi’s fingers drummed against his thigh under the table.

“No. In fact, most of the higher ups believe he’s dead since he’s been dormant for so long,” Eren just simply shrugged as if the sentence carried no weight.

Levi felt ice in his veins. His throat constricted, and he took in a sharp breath through his nose.

Eren lifted his mug to his lips as he quietly scribbled a few notes down on a napkin. A smile formed against the edge of the mug. His eyes fluttered up to look at his fiancée and he noticed Levi’s pallor right away. “Are you alright?”

“I’m just a… little tired, that’s all.” Levi lied, trying to brush off his fiancé’s concern.

Eren saw through Levi’s bullshit instantly, but didn’t want to call him out on it. “Maybe you should lay down?”

“Yeah.” Levi nodded, standing up from the table. He rubbed his eyes as he walked away from Eren, not even bothering to push in the chair behind him. He just wanted to leave.

“Do you want me to get you anything?” Eren called out after him, wanting to do anything to help.

Levi didn’t even turn around to face him. “No, I’m just going to take a quick nap.”

“Alright, love. Sleep well.” Eren all but whispered as Levi left. He wasn’t even sure if Levi had heard him.

Levi laid in the bed, still and very much awake. His jaw was locked, his eyes were trained on the ceiling.

Soon. This would all be over soon. Levi just needed to hang in there. Just for a bit longer.  
-  
“Today is the day,” Eren whispered as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was struggling to adjust his bow tie. As hard as he had tried, he just couldn’t seem to tie a tie properly. Eren may endless determination, but goddamnit, ties are impossible when you can’t concentrate. And as frustrated as he was, he couldn’t find it in himself to be angry. He was overjoyed at the thought of being with Levi for as long as he lived.

His peaceful moment, like a string pulled taut by both anxiousness and bliss, was severed by the sound of someone all but stumbling down the stairs. Eren didn’t even have time to turn around before Squad Leader Hanji burst into the room. Their normally over the top eccentricity was replaced by a grave expression.

“Eren, you have to come with us.” They ordered. Their eyes did not let themselves notice Eren’s regalia, and focused on his face. They didn’t like the idea of ruining this seemingly perfect wedding ceremony.

“Squad Leader,” Eren said as he faced the reflection of Hanji in the mirror rather than looking at them directly, “I’m about to get married. You’re welcome to stay and watch, but I am going to marry the man I love.”

“I’m sorry, Eren.” They reached out to pull on his arm, forcing him to face them. “but we know where the Queen is. If we don’t strike now, we will lose him.”

“Hanji.”

“Levi will have to understand.” They tried to reason.

Eren wouldn’t even look them in the eye. His feet didn’t move, and he seemed hesitant to so much as think of leaving Levi at the altar. “I can’t just-”  
“Eren, it’s for the good of humanity. We all have to make sacrifices; I guess your sacrifice is your wedding day.” They shrugged as if it was as simple as being late to work. “If Levi really loves you, he will forgive you for anything.”

“I don’t want to hurt him like this, Hanji.”

“And would you rather have the possibility of the Queen attacking him later? Eren, this is to protect not only him, but the rest of the world.”

Something about that statement seemed to click with Eren. His eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the mirror. The determination that Hanji had grown to expect from him had returned it seemed as they saw that familiar look in his eyes. “I will destroy anything that stands in between Levi and I.”

Hanji’s momentary relief quickly slipped away as Eren turned away from the mirror to face them. His eyes. Something wicked glinted in Eren’s eyes, but only for a moment. Something ancient, something sincere. Eren had hoped Hanji didn’t see it.

They did.

“You didn’t really have a choice.” They said sternly, grabbing him by the wrist. They didn’t even give him a chance to properly tie his shoelaces before dragging him up the stairs. Hanji pulled him out of the church and lead him through the town’s crowded streets. Normally, someone would struggle with weaving through crowds of people in such a tight street, but Hanji did so impressively. Not without knocking some people over though.

Eren wasn’t sure if they noticed, but if they did, they didn’t seem to care at the moment. Hanji was determined to bring an end to the Queen, and if that meant causing some people to trip and fall, then so be it. If what they believed about the Queen proved to be true, then letting him get away would prove to be catastrophic.

No.

Hanji wouldn’t let that happen. They had to destroy him by any means necessary.

“Do you think we could slow down a little?” Eren cried out as Hanji was practically tearing out his arm. But Hanji did not answer him. “Or at least could you watch out for other people in the street?”

And again, Hanji did not reply, and Eren gave up asking.

Without a doubt, Eren’s arm was going to be horribly sore after this little adventure.

Eren had assumed he was being dragged away back to their base camp in the woods just outside of one of the neighborhoods, but Hanji tugged him in a completely different part of the woods. It was probably about a mile away from their main camp. It was possible that since the Squad Leader had not been to the base camp, they might not actually know where it is. Eren held back on that idea as Hanji seemed pretty adamant in their actions.

Eren didn’t vocally express his concerns anymore and allowed himself to be dragged off into the woods. The brambles were thicker in this part of the woods. Loose branches and needle-like thorns buried themselves in his pants. His elegant suit grew more and more tattered beyond repair. He swallowed heavily as he could hear his suit audibly rip to pieces. If Hanji cared, they didn’t show it. It was almost as if destroying the wedding was necessary, rather than just abruptly postponing it.

The morning sky faded from view as the leafy canopy grew thicker as they went deeper into the woods. Eren found it harder and harder to keep his footing as less and less light made it down to the forest floor. Gnarled roots and low hanging branches sought to knock him flat on his ass, as if they knew why he was there. It was as if this entire forest had sudden clarity.

Eren growled, and resented the harsh tug on his wrist as he fell behind Hanji. They didn’t even look at him. Usually they were chittering and chattering away about this theory and that. He had only seen them this silent once before. It was his second year of being in the corps. They had corned a demon in a small village in Italy. The demon had nearly escaped, and had killed a mother and child in it’s panic. With innocents on the line, the Squad Leader dropped their antics and remained focus in a deadly manner.  
It was unnerving how quickly they could shift between wide varieties of emotions. But why would Hanji be acting as if all hell was about to break loose. It was as if they had-

Eren’s train of thought was cut off as he was roughly shoved into another forest clearing. It was much denser than their old base camp clearing. The warm rays of the sun yearned to comfort them and bring them into a peaceful calm. This calm was denied to them. The tall, narrow trees stretched up high above them, blocking the light of the sun.

He saw ammunition crates lining the camp. They all appeared to be mostly empty, if not completely discarded. Eren’s brows furrowed and he looked up for answers. He found them rather quickly. Erwin, Armin, and a few other scouts were all equipped with guns. Each gun was most likely loaded with holy silver bullets or whatever other worthless trinket humans thought could stop a demon. They were also given a few blades to use in close combat.

Eren felt an awkward, panicked laugh rip itself from his throat. “H-hey, are you guys okay? You all look-” Eren didn’t bother to finish his sentence. They were all armed to the teeth. Their eyes looked almost as deadly as their silver blades. They all looked steeled in their resolve as they slowly reached to draw their preferred weapons.

Eren’s mouth fell open as his eyes darted back in forth between all of them. They were all ready to defend themselves against him. Only Armin seemed a bit unsettled in all of this. “Armin?” Eren weakly called out to what they had all believed was his friend.

Armin could only wince as he pulled out his own gun. Eren made note of the gentle tremble of his hands. He could perhaps sway over, Armin, but the others would probably ignore his pleas. He decided to just try and brush it off instead. “What do you think I’m a demon?”

Erwin grit his teeth and cocked his gun, pointing it directly at Eren’s head. He couldn’t let this charade go on any longer. “Don’t play games anymore games with us, Queen. You’ve fooled us enough already.” The agony of discovering that his decades long search for the Queen was all a ruse made him furious. So much of his life had been wasted trying to get to this point. Eren had been with them for so long. His powers were so blatant, but he wanted to believe that there was a chance they could still win this. He felt like such a fool for trusting in Eren, for believing in him.

“You…” Eren’s voice trailed on, trying to buy a little bit more time to process all of this. “You all think I’m a demon?”

He turned his head to see if he could take the chance to make a break for it, but Hanji stopped him from even considering it. He was quite thankful for their stern, numb expression. Their usual eccentricity would have horrified him in this scenario. At least he knew Hanji wouldn’t take pleasure in it.

It seemed they had all grown quite fond of him. It was rather touching if it wasn’t so damn foolish of them all. Eren’s panicked, shaky laughter grew more stable. It had more of a mirth and a lilt to it, much like a child playing with his favorite toys. “How is it that you can all be so close to the truth and yet so far.”

His eyes were golden, yet the sun did not shine.


	5. Fifth Movement

The radiant sun hid behind dark clouds as Eren walked back to the church. The sun’s light barely pierced the covered sky, casting a dreary gray light onto the town.

The same street that was bustling with people was empty. The friendly conversations and the bright laughter of children was replaced by the whispering of the wind. Eren felt as if he was the only one in the entire town. He glanced into the windows of the shops and cafes, but he couldn’t see a single soul. Several cars were still parallel parked in front of some of the stores, but they were all vacant as well.

Even though Eren knew where he was going, he felt lost. A feeling of sudden hopelessness tried over take him, but Eren kept walking. He had to find Levi and explain everything. He had to. He couldn’t let Levi hate him for this. He needed to be with his bride again.

He could see the church’s steeples looming over the other buildings. The dark spires stretched into the sky, as if reaching for something they could not grasp. The closer he came to the church, the louder his heart pounded, almost as if he had two hearts instead of one.

When he came to the church’s marble stairs, he hesitated before taking the first step. Once his foot was on the marble, he took a moment to breathe. The wind picked up behind him, urging him forward. For a moment it almost sounded like someone was whispering to him. Eren told himself that it was only his imagination, and pushed onward.

The large wooden doors were closed shut, which was strange, because the church always kept them open to let anyone in. An ordinary human would have turned around by now, but Eren was by no means ordinary. Levi was still in the church; he could feel it.

He had to go into the church.

He had to find his bride.

Gripping the iron door handles, Eren pulled open the heavy doors, their hinges squealing in protest. He was greeted by a familiar, foul, metallic scent and a dark entrance. As Eren stepped inside of the church, he closed the doors behind him. He couldn’t think of a good reason to leave them open. After all, they were probably shut for a reason.

Without the light from the outside, Eren was able to see that there was actually a dim light coming from the nave of the church. 

He had to find Levi.

He stepped quietly and slowly into the main room of the church. The only light came from the largest stained-glass window above the altar. He took it as a sign. His feet felt oddly heavy as he walked down the aisle. He was supposed to be doing this hours ago. He should have been here waiting for Levi, but he wasn’t. He had abandoned him.

He had to make it right.

He glanced back up at the stained-glass, the dust in the air danced in the light. It seemed like the only other moving thing in the room with him, but he didn’t feel like he was alone. Hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he felt someone’s eyes on him. He wanted to turn his head wildly around to observe, but he tried to stay focused. He just needed to think about Levi.

He approached the altar with a somber reverence. He wasn’t particularly religious, but he felt remorse and loss. He just wanted to apologize to Levi above all else. He needed to apologize, for everything. His hands rested on the altar. The marble felt so cold and sterile under his skin.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and tried to face the shadowy figure, but something cold clamped around his wrist. Before he could realize what was going on, he felt himself dragged onto the altar itself. The metal cuffs dug into his wrists as he tried to lift himself off the cold stone surface.

“Well aren’t you’re persistent little shit?” A familiar voice all but whispered from the shadows.

Eren’s eyes darted around in the dark, desperately trying to see where Levi was speaking from. If it was Levi, that is.

Levi stepped forth from the shadows, his pure, white lace veil still covered his face. The light pouring through the cracked stained-glass window made his dress practically glisten. The small crystals interwoven into the fabric looked ethereal and unreal as they made the light dance onto the stone pillars and marble tiles around the altar.

 

Instead of having his hands grasped around a bouquet at his waist, he held his hands behind his back. His strides toward the altar were slow, yet deliberate. He did not need to make this hasty. He had Eren right where he wanted him and could toy with him for as long as he wanted to.

“What was it you said?” He asked, his speech was just as unhurried as his steps, but he answered the question for Eren when only silence hung between them. “Was it ‘Hunting down the demon Queen is a very personal mission of mine’?” The bride only gave a small hum in consideration before turning to stalk around the perimeter of the altar. “That sounds about right.”

“Why are you doing this?” Eren’s voice did not waver, but the quietness betrayed the courage he tried to exude. “I… I thought…”

“Oh please, this is just a game to me. After you and your demon hunters separated me from my King, I’ve been living through hell,” Levi paused, “Well, actually I haven’t been living through hell, and that’s my fucking problem. This damned seal on my neck prevents me from getting home. I wanted to send a message, to whomever might receive it, that I need to be rescued from this. This isn’t where I belong. You and I both know that.

I remember that some poor souls would wander into the throne room begging for mercy or some shit. Others however came with messages. Some people’s last thought before they died was to deliver a message to the rulers of hell. Usually to ask for mercy or to ask for us to save a loved one or some shit. King Eren and I would usually just ignore them. If they got particularly rowdy or annoying, we’d torture them.” Levi hadn’t turned to look at Eren, but he had simply assumed that he wore a shocked expression on his face. “No, you heard me correctly. Demon… King… Eren. Isn’t that fucking hilarious?” Levi couldn’t restrain a quiet chuckle. “A demon hunter having the same name as the demon King? You demon hunters have been trying to find my King’s name for so long, only to find out it was your own name.”

As much as Eren was enjoying the little performance Levi was putting on, this was getting excessive. The cuffs around his wrists were starting to become increasingly uncomfortable.

“I bet the entire time you thought that I was the weak one, that you were the one in charge. I’m the one in control now, I’ve always been the one in control,” Levi chuckled. “Though I must say, this pseudo-relationship was the most enjoyable one I’ve had. I enjoyed my time with you, and it seemed that you actually respected me and cared for me. Only to find out that you were a demon hunter yourself! Ha! What a coincidence, as you said, it was your mission to hunt down the Queen. Congratulations, you’ve found your Queen. ” Levi’s eyes swept over the chains securing Eren to the cold marble altar. “And now I suppose you’ll try to kill me… Good luck with that. I still can’t help but wonder why you left me at the altar.” The bride turned back around to face him, a silver blade was clasped in his hands. The delicate satin gloves framed the knife as if it was a bouquet of roses. “Oh, Eren, I thought you really loved me.” The bride nearly sang as he poised the knife above Eren’s heart.

Eren slowly closed his eyes and breathed in gently through his nose. His eyes shot open, as a glowing gold took over the green in his eyes. “But I do.” He smiled at his Queen.

And just like that, Eren’s glass mask shattered in Levi’s eyes, and the pieces fell into place. He was silent. His brows furrowed significantly more than usual. Levi’s mouth fell agape, as if he was trying to say something, but the shock silenced him for a minute.

“Eren? M-my Eren?” Levi whispered, his voice barely escaping his lips.

“Yes, my love?” Eren chuckled, while Levi’s expression turned bitter.

“You knew it was me this entire time and you didn’t reveal yourself to me? We’ve been forcibly separated for centuries, and you wouldn’t show yourself to me when you found me?” He screeched and clenched his fists tight enough so that his knuckles turned as white as his dress. “You tried to convince me that they killed you!”

“Levi, my Queen, I-”

“Shut it, I don’t want to hear it.” He all but snapped at the demon on the altar. Pursing his lips, he ripped the veil off his head and tossed it aside. It gently fell to the tiled floor, droplets of crimson blood corrupted the pure white lace.

“Please, wait and let me explain,” Eren begged. His Queen’s eye twitched, but he stayed silent expecting an answer. “After the demon hunters separated us, I searched everywhere for you, but I couldn’t find you. I grew more desperate with every breath and step I took. After a century and a half, I knew I needed to make drastic changes if I was ever going to find you again. I disguised myself as a human and I joined a small group of demon hunters. I knew that if they were competent enough, they would lead me right to you.”

“It was a risk, but it got me to where I needed to be. I was going to take care of them immediately once I found you, but I got wrapped up in spending time with you, and it got out of hand. And Armin and Mikasa complicated things… but, I promise it’s safe for us once again.”

“But did you really have to say that ‘the Demon King is most likely dead’? It felt like a lance had pierced my own heart, the heart that doesn’t truly belong to me anymore.” Levi gave a poignant glare at Eren’s own chest.

“I wanted you to know that the demon hunters weren’t even thinking about searching for me. I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

Levi scoffed and rubbed his temples. “And you thought that would make me worry less?”

“Well…” Eren winced as he realized the distress he could have put Levi through.

“The thought of you being dead is worse than the fucking torturous pits of hell. And we both know what those are like.”

“I felt the same when I couldn’t find you,” Eren whispered and looked away from Levi for a moment. “I started to wonder if you really were gone. It hurt so much to think that.” 

“Eren…” Levi sighed softly and took Eren’s hand in an attempt to soothe him.

Eren gave Levi’s hand a loving squeeze. The chain connecting the cuff to the altar rattled as he moved, reminding them both that Eren was bound to the marble. Levi gave the slightest bashful smile as Eren nearly giggled. What a mess this was. “Can you unlock me now?”

“What?” Levi raised a brow and put his hands on his hips. “Can the ‘most powerful demon’ not get himself out of mere chains?”

“I wanted it to be symbolic of how without you I am not free.”

“Eren, you dork.” Levi snorted and pulled a silver key out to unlock the clasps.

Eren’s face grew a bright red as he gave an awkward smile. “It sounded more romantic in my head.”

“It was romantic, just really tacky.” The key turned with a satisfying click and the cuff fell off of his wrist. Levi wasted no time in removing the rest of them.

As soon as Eren was freed, he sat upright and pulled Levi into his arms. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Levi wasted no time in burrowing his head into Eren’s shoulder. He could almost cry tears of relief, but he held them back. He might be in his king’s embrace, but he was still trapped in this world. And almost as if Eren could hear his thoughts, Eren cupped Levi’s nape with his hand, gently rubbing the spot where the seal had been placed so long ago.

But the patch of skin felt peculiar. It felt like there was some kind of paint over it. Eren pulled back his hand and saw the same color of Levi’s skin staining the tips of his fingers. “What-”

“It’s just make up.” Levi brushed his fingers against his own nape to reveal the mark more. The fair peach color of the concealer stained his satin glove. “I didn’t need any demon hunters recognizing the seal.”

Eren nodded and gently swept his thumb over the back of his Queen’s neck. The makeup smudged and came off easily. Eren’s brows furrowed as he remembered the moment it was placed on Levi’s skin. “This damned, infernal seal has kept me too far from my Queen for far too long.”

“Then why don’t you break it already?” Levi reached for Eren’s hand to clasp in his own.

Eren gingerly took Levi’s hand, relishing in the moment. He had found Levi after all this time. Levi was alive. Levi had longed to be reunited with him after centuries of being apart. Levi hadn’t forgotten him. All of his doubts and fears from the last few centuries were unneeded and disturbing, and it was blissful to feel them wash away as he pressed his lips against the cursed mark.

Eren’s hands cupped Levi’s cheeks, trying to sooth Levi as much as he could. Both of them knew these next few minutes would be agony for him.

His cloudy silver eyes were slowly taken by blood red storm inside.

“I love you,” Eren’s thumb brushed gently over Levi’s cheekbones.

Levi didn’t hold back from the kiss. He didn’t hesitate or put up any sort of façade. His feelings were genuine as their lips were slotted together.

Levi clenched his jaw and tried his hardest to only think of Eren’s lips, but he failed. The pain was excruciating as his horns began to pierce his scalp. Levi smelt his own blood in the air before he felt it trickling down his face. The dripping crimson was such a beautiful stark contrast against Levi’s porcelain skin. Eren would have found it decadent if only his love wasn’t in so much pain.

The long horns curved to mimic a ram’s. They framed Levi’s face perfectly. Eren remembered when those horns used to be adorned with the finest jewelry and gold. Every time he had visited the human world he would always make sure to get Levi a gift before returning. Golden chains, rings crafted with the most precious gems, and pearl necklaces had hung from either side of Levi’s face centuries ago. Eren couldn’t wait to see his Queen like that once more.

He let out a groan in pain as sharp bones protruded through his back and tore the back of his dress open. His own blood stained the pure white lace of his wedding dress.

Levi’s legs trembled, threatening to give out beneath him. He tightened his grip around Eren’s forearms, his growing talons pierced through Eren’s flesh with ease. Eren paid that no mind though, he would be fully healed again soon enough.

The feathers came in shortly after, stretching elegantly from their frame. They matched the same deep red that filled Levi’s eyes.

As Levi’s transformation came to an end, he regained only a little bit of his strength. The process had painfully taken him several decades only a few centuries ago. To have it completed in less than five minutes was exhausting beyond words.

Levi winced at the wounds he had left in Eren’s arms, wounds that Eren himself had barely noticed. He was more focused on keeping Levi steady as he allowed himself to be fully revealed to his Queen.

The golden feathers looked delicate, fragile. But Levi knew that was a misleading thought. The light that barely entered the church reflected off the feathers, casting the light all around them.

His horns were also curved like Levi’s, but they were just a little bit longer and curved. Levi’s horns ended just below his cheek bones, the sharp tips mere inches away from piercing his own flesh. Eren’s, however, curved by his cheekbones and extended away from his face, much like a bighorn sheep.

Levi was awed by his King’s form and relieved that only one of them went through agonizing pain during the transformation. Eren only had to reveal his wings and horns, Levi had to regrow his.

“I love you, too,” Levi weakly whispered.

“Let’s get out of here, shall we?” Eren gently stroked Levi’s hair to try and soothe his pain.

Levi gently grinned at Eren’s words and cupped his cheek, lovingly stroking them with his thumb. He opened his mouth to say something else about how he missed Eren, but Eren knocked the words out of him by grabbing him by the waist and hoisting him into his arms. “Eren!”

Eren all but beamed as he lifted Levi off the ground. “I couldn’t resist carrying my bride bridal style.”

“Just shut up and take me home.” Levi looked away from Eren, but the faintest dusting of pink showed that the attention was appreciated.

Eren obeyed his queen. He marched out of the church with his bride in his arms, as happy as he could possibly be. His golden wings stretched out fully, it was delightful to feel them finally free. He had been disguised as a human for far too long. A nice flight home with Levi in his arms was just what he needed to get used to this form again.

Eren pushed off the ground with a mighty beat of his wings. The first few moments in the air were shaky, but he eventually gained control and steadied himself. Levi waited a moment before adjusting himself in Eren’s arms to make the trip more comfortable for the both of them. He latched onto Eren as he looked down at the ground below them. The small, isolated town grew smaller and smaller as they carried off into the sky.

“So, did you practice that monologue?” Eren smirked carrying his queen, his bride, his everything.

“Yeah.” Levi grumbled. He always practiced to make sure he was that much more terrifying.

“You’re adorable.” Eren chuckled and ignored the deadly glare Levi sent his way.

“I was literally about to sacrifice you.”

“I know!” Eren beamed and held Levi tighter. “I think it’s sweet that you’ve been sacrificing people in my name.”

Levi wanted to say something in reply, but a splitting headache ripped the words from his mouth. His head was absolutely throbbing. His newly grown horns were majestic, but it felt like they had been pulled from his skull with blisteringly hot forceps. Levi rested his head against Eren’s chest, hoping for some relief. Instead, he heard both of their hearts beating as one. It was a wondrous thing to hear after so long, but Levi still felt slightly irate about the situation. “I’m still a little pissed, you know…”

“What did I do, now?” Eren smiled, his eyes shining a brilliant gold as the wind danced in his hair.

“What didn’t you do?” Levi folded his arms. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that it was you. I mean I get why you didn’t, but I’m still mad. You made me look like a damned fool back in that church.”

Eren softly shook his head and pressed his lips to his Queen’s forehead. “You could never look like a fool.”

“I am a fool,” Levi refused, “a fool for falling for you.”

He felt so safe and secure in his King’s arms, how had he survived so long without him? Levi was absolutely hypnotized by Eren’s golden wings as they soared through the air. The setting sun caught in their brilliance made it look as if the wings were aflame. He felt so safe and secure in his King’s arms, how had he survived so long without him?

Levi was exhausted from his transformation, so it was no surprise that he gently drifted to sleep in his King’s arms. His face softened into a loving smile, and held Levi closer to him. “We’re not too far away, love.” Eren whispered against Levi’s newly formed horns.

Finally, the King and Queen were going home.


	6. Reprise

Levi slowly crawled out of the haze of unconsciousness. Whispers and whimpers of the damned filled the air like a twisted lullaby. Their constant droning echoed gently throughout the large room. The vaulted ceilings lay impossibly far above him, the dregs of sleep that clouded his eyes prevented him from seeing the murals etched into the stone above. Rows of dark columns rose on either side of the room, simple, elegant banners adorning each of them.

A wide crimson carpet bordered with golden trim led the way to the dais at the end of the hall. On the dais sat the throne. It was the unofficial throne of hell. It didn’t hold any true power over any poor soul that had been trapped there, but it was still highly coveted. The throne was formed of woven wires of gold and silver, ever so delicately sculpted to look like vines and leaves. The foliage slowly turned from a peaceful, tender embrace to a more threatening, thorny appearance towards the base. A reminder to all that bowed before it the wicked nature the Queen and King had.

Levi brought a hand to his face to rub at his eyes. He felt the throne shift underneath him and realized he wasn’t on the throne, rather on someone. He felt a clawed hand rake through his hair almost as if they were petting him. It took Levi a moment to recognize Eren’s voice as he spoke to him. “It’s seems my sleeping beauty’s finally awake, hmm?”

Levi’s heart skipped a beat as he blinked away the dregs of sleep that clouded his vision. “It wasn’t a dream,” he whispered under his breath, just loud enough for Eren to hear, “I’ve dreamed of this for so long.”

“Me too, love,” Eren smiled softly and helped Levi to sit up in his lap.

“I still can’t believe I’m here in your arms again.” Levi’s hand gently caressed his lover’s face. “You used to visit me in my sleep. I was so afraid that I’d forget what you’d look like, that I’d forget your voice, forget your embrace. But almost every night, you came to me in my dreams and comforted me and promised me that you would come back for me.”

“I dreamt of you too.” Eren said, pushing a few stray hairs behind one of Levi’s horns. “But it sounds like you had better dreams than me.” Worry etched itself across the Queen’s face.

“Eren-”

“They weren’t that bad. After all, it can’t be that bad if a dream has you in it.” Eren hid behind a half-hearted smile and pulled his eyes away from Levi’s.

“Eren…” Levi gently cupped one of his cheeks, forcing him to look back up. “Please…” Levi whispered, gently demanding the truth from him. Eren couldn’t help but be honest.

“I dreamt that by the time I found you, you had moved on, you were dead, you stopped loving me, or you forgot about me. I eventually stopped sleeping and only pretended to.”

“Eren, you are my king. I will always love you.”

“I will always love you too, my Queen.” Eren whispered, his voice cracking a bit as Levi saw his eyes water briefly. He knew they were only tears of relief, but he refused to see Eren cry. Retracting the claws on his thumbs, he cupped Eren’s cheeks and wiped away the tears before they could run down his face. “You’re so beautiful, Levi.” Eren’s eyes were focused on Levi’s crimson wings. The fire from the candles around them made them look like they were glowing. Levi’s wings were still tender as he stretched them out fully for the first time in centuries. It was such a relief to feel the familiar weight on his back. It was a constant reminder in the back of his head that his lover had come to rescue him. Eren took his time admiring Levi’s bare horns. He ran a clawed finger over the ridges, appreciating the graceful curve that framed his Queen’s face perfectly. He adored seeing Levi without jewelry adorning nearly every inch of his body, but he still couldn’t wait to bury him in a pile of gilded gifts.

Levi looked at the palm of his hand and how his fingertips fused into his bone claws. They weren’t quite as long as Eren’s, but they were far sharper. Levi was eager to test them out again, to feel them coated in slick blood once more, but that would have to wait. Right now, he just wanted to be in Eren’s arms more than anything else. Anything else could wait.

He splayed his hand against Eren’s chest, loving how his black talons looked against Eren’s beautiful tan skin. Levi tugged on his bottom lip with his teeth as he slowly dragged his claws down. Small, barely visible pink lines rose up on his King’s skin, a visible reminder of the pain he could inflict. Eren did indeed feel the cuts on his chest, but instead of pain, he felt pride and lust.

He was so damn proud to call this heavenly, infernal creature his. Levi belonged to him, and he to Levi. He gave his Queen a brilliant, warm smile before wrapping his arms around Levi’s back and pulling him closer. Eren rested his head on Levi’s shoulder, breathing in through his nose slowly, letting his eyes slip shut. His own horns briefly clacked against Levi’s. Their horns were magnificent, but perhaps the only drawback of these forms. They made embracing each other a little bit difficult and occasionally painful.

Their wings on the other hand made embracing each other that more delightful. They could easily stretch out and wrap around the other, holding them closer and keeping them in a pleasant, feathery hold. Levi’s silken feathers felt especially pleasant against his skin. He would often find his fingers nestled in his wings, stroking them absent mindlessly.

“Oh, Levi. You have no idea how much I’ve missed this,” Eren sighed softly. “The way that your body fits mine so well.” One of his hands reached up to gently scratch at Levi’s prickly undercut. “It’s as if we were made for each other, my Queen.”

Levi usually just let Eren ramble out his praises while they bonded. It wasn’t that Levi didn’t feel the same way for him, but his crass tongue wasn’t the best at weaving romantic sayings. He would rather respond in kind with his actions. Before Eren could say more heart-wrenching, sweet nothings, Levi pressed his lips against Eren’s shoulder. Eren’s skin was feverishly warm against his lips, a simple side effect of being in hell. It made Levi all the more excited.

Eren grabbed a small crystal vial from one of the compartments built into the throne. The woven, ornate patterns on the throne and the surrounding dais allowed for him to store and hide almost anything he could need at a moment’s notice. The fire glinting off of the crystal caught Levi’s attention, and he recognized the vial instantly. A quiet whine pulled itself from his throat. Levi used to swear that he would beg and plead to no one, but Eren had proven to be the exception. “Please,” he panted, “Eren, my King.”

“Yes, my love?” Eren grinned. The smile was supposed to seem genuine, but Levi could hear the smirk drenched in his words.

“Please!” Levi hissed, refusing to play this game after all these years apart. He thought Eren would have just taken him at the first chance, but here the bastard was, toying with him.

“Please, what? You’ll have to use your words, Levi.” Eren smiled wider, baring all of his sharp teeth. “Tell me exactly what you want me to do to you.”

“I-I need-” Levi huffed, feeling flustered above all else. A small bit of blush found its way onto his face and it delighted Eren. “I need you inside of me!” His words echoed a bit throughout the throne room, but he saw a greater reaction in Eren’s eyes. The gold glimmered in response to Levi wanting to be one once more.

Eren answered Levi’s demand first with a kiss. Their lips slotted together sweetly at first, before they both grew hungry for more. Levi’s eyes slipped shut as Eren’s tongue pushed against his lips. He happily hummed into the kiss as he heard Eren uncork the vial.

Eren let the oil drizzle slowly onto his fingers before rubbing them all together to warm it up. Levi was pretty picky about preparation, but it was absolutely warranted. He made sure to retract his talons before even thinking about letting his hand wander down Levi’s backside. As Levi pushed back against his tongue with his own, Eren let his hand hover just above Levi’s ass. He found himself oddly nervous.

He couldn’t for the life of himself figure out why, though. He had everything he could ever want sitting in his lap right now. Levi wanted this just as much as he did. So why was he hesitant for even a moment?

Perhaps the still lingering fear of Levi losing interest in him raged inside of him. Or, maybe centuries of stress and fear can’t be erased so quickly. Eren wasn’t sure, but apparently his distress had interrupted their kiss. Levi pulled away, and grabbed Eren’s horns to drag him back to the present.

“You look lost, do you need me to give a map to my ass?” Levi’s joking nature soothed him a bit, and he kissed the tip of his nose in appreciation.

“I just feel like this is just…” He let his words trail off as his thoughts seemed to run away from him.”

“… a lot?” Levi offered.

“Yeah. I’m so, so relieved to have you here, but…” Eren pulled Levi closer and rested his head on Levi’s shoulder. “We were apart for too long. It was just too much.”

“I know. We’ll figure this all out again one step at a time.” Levi reassured him, kissing his jaw.

“I think I’d like to just try to forget about everything except for you right now.” Eren whispered and grabbed a handful of Levi’s ass. It was just as firm as he remembered it.

“I think I’d like that too,” Levi nearly purred and spread his legs a little bit harder. Being perched atop the throne made things slightly more cramped, but they couldn’t fucking resist it.

Eren let a slicked finger wander down in between Levi’s cheeks, rubbing gently at his skin. Levi’s back arched ever so slightly when his finger brushed against the tight ring of muscle. Eren found himself facing another choice. Did he want to tease Levi till he was nearly crying on the brink of breaking, or did he want to bring Levi to release as soon as possible. Eren felt himself wanting to take Levi as quickly as he could to make up for the lost time, but taking this sweet and slow would probably make Levi much more content.

His goal was to appease his Queen above all else, so he decided he would just have to take Levi apart slowly before making them whole again. Instead of pressing his finger inside, he just rubbed it around Levi’s hole, giving him barely enough stimulation. He could hear Levi’s breathing hitch just barely; his body went a little rigid under Eren’s touch. He could feel his Queen force himself to relax, preparing for Eren to push into him, but he didn’t. 

Eren hushed Levi’s breathy complaints by peppering his neck with sweet kisses. Those kisses quickly turned into little nibbles on his jawline and tugging at his earlobe. Levi rested his hands on Eren’s shoulders, his nails scraping at Eren’s skin absentmindedly. He was patient with Eren toying with him, but Eren knew those talons would be sinking in when Levi wasn’t willing to wait anymore.

Levi stayed quiet, curious to see what Eren wanted to do to him after all these years. The reckless, quick to the chase demon had been replaced with a much more tender one. Levi was impressed for the moment. Perhaps absence truly did make the heart fonder. Gentle sessions of love making would be a sweet reprieve, perhaps, but Levi hoped that Eren wouldn’t be too afraid to break him.

Eren’s teeth sunk in on his shoulder, making Levi nearly jump in surprise. Eren let out a soft breathy giggle and lapped at the fresh wound as a silent apology. Eren was catching him off guard. Had all these years apart dulled Levi’s reflexes? Perhaps Levi just needed to retaliate instead.

While Eren took the slower, sensual route to get Levi into the mood, the Queen decided that perhaps a change of pace would drive the King mad. Levi quickly retracted his claws, and let go of Eren’s broad shoulders. A little bit of Eren’s blood stained the tips of his fingers. He slowly, almost lazily, painted Eren’s abs red as his fingers trailed down towards Eren’s pubic area.

Eren pulled himself off of Levi’s neck to look at his Queen in confusion. His golden eyes were blown wide in confusion as a sly smirk stretched across Levi’s face. Levi brushed the palm of his hand over Eren’s half-hard cock, feeling it twitch with the sensation. Eren swallowed a bit as Levi fully grasped the member, feeling it start to stiffen under his hold. Levi wiped Eren’s stupid look off his face by pressing his lips against Eren’s collarbones. A sharp bite on the sensitive skin forced a strangled, raspy grunt from Eren. Levi considered it a success.

Eren’s hands found themselves returning to grab at Levi’s ass. He pulled Levi a little closer on his lap. His oiled fingers circled Levi’s hole once more before he gently started to press one in. Levi shivered in anticipation, rubbing his thumb over the tip of Eren’s cock.

Once the first knuckle made its way inside, Levi let out a hushed little moan. It made Eren more determined to hear more of that sweet music. He found little resistance pushing the finger in further. The oil helped soothe the muscles as he stretched Levi open, little by little. As soon as the finger was in fully, he placed a kiss on Levi’s jaw and started to move it back and forth. He tried to plant another kiss on Levi’s jawline, but the queen moved his head to catch it on the lips. They both smiled into the kiss as their bodies moved with each other.

Levi gently stroked Eren’s cock, replacing his eager attitude with the same tenderness that Eren held. He let his fingers linger over Eren’s veins, tracing the patterns they made. Of course, they wouldn’t have changed over time, but it gave Levi a sense of relief to find something he could remember so clearly. He had traced over those veins many times before, both with his fingers and his tongue.

The second finger slipped in just as easily as the first. It felt peculiar to be stretched out again after so long, but Levi welcomed the feeling. He let his eyes slip shut once more to savor the feeling of it. At this point, Eren’s cock was fully erect in his hand. He bit down on his lip as the thought about taking it right now. No, he wasn’t ready yet, and Eren probably wouldn’t let him take it just yet. He rarely ever let either of them get penetrated with only two fingers worth of preparation.

The third finger stung a bit as Eren started to push it past the tight ring of muscle. Once he felt the resistance, he started to slow down and carefully scissor the other two fingers to help make room. He considered pulling his hand out to use more oil, but he knew Levi would fuss. Instead he just took it slow and tried to distract Levi with enough kisses. The third finger finally pushed all the way through as Eren finished coating each of Levi’s checks with pecks. He was about to continue stretching when Levi let out a loud moan. The third finger had found his prostate.

“Oh, your moans, they’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. I’ve waited what feels like eternity to hear those again.” Eren sighed wistfully as he prepared to push a fourth finger into Levi. He wanted to make sure Levi was fully prepared for this.

“Eren, I can’t wait any damn longer,” Levi panted. He let his forehead rest on Eren’s sore shoulder. “Just take me now.”

Eren hesitated, but he trusted his Queen’s judgement. “As you wish, my Queen,” the King whispered into his ear as he lined his cock up with Levi’s hole. He slowly lowered Levi’s thighs and let the tip push through.

Levi’s head snapped back, he cried out a little. “Fuck!”

“Are you alright?” Eren immediately froze. “Does it hurt too much? Should I pull out?”

“No,” Levi breathed, “just give me time to adjust. It’s been a long ass time since you’ve been in me.”

Eren raised a brow, but didn’t disobey his Queen. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Levi nodded and moved his thighs to lower himself slightly. As Levi lowered himself down, Eren’s gilded eyes slipped closed in pure bliss, and Levi gasped in painful pleasure. He stopped moving every few minutes to allow himself time to adjust. His breaths were starting to get heavy, and Eren tried to distract him by lapping at his neck.

Perhaps it was the flames of hell surrounding the castle that made the throne room feel so steamy, or maybe it was Eren’s hot breaths at his neck. Either way, Levi started to feel sweat bead on his brow. When Eren had filled him to the hilt, Levi knew he needed to just sit still for a moment and let himself get adjusted. They had gone too long apart to just go on without taking it slow. There was nothing he wanted more than to bounce on Eren’s lap till his King was crying out, but Eren wouldn’t want to see him in pain.

Levi rested his sweaty forehead on Eren’s chest. His hot and heavy breaths were just above one of his nipples. Levi realized he had found another distraction from the familiar yet unfamiliar feeling of being stretched out. Levi stuck his tongue out to press against the sensitive bud to gauge Eren’s reaction. As he expected, Eren shivered a bit and tugged on Levi’s hair. Levi considered that as encouragement.

He wrapped his lips around the bud and let out a pleased hum. The vibrations left Eren digging his fingers deeper into Levi’s scalp. He could practically feel Levi’s smirk against his skin. His cock was buried in his Queen’s ass and as much as he wanted to snap his hips up, he had to hold still. Levi was practically torturing him with all this toying around. And Eren was sure that Levi knew that.

His Queen was a bit cruel sometimes. Levi let his teeth scrape over the bud before giving it a hard nip. Eren felt a broken groan force itself from his mouth. Levi pulled his head away, looking very pleased with himself. He rubbed the bud gently between his thumb and index finger as he resumed biting at Eren’s neck. The column of flesh was slowly but surely becoming completely decorated in his bite marks. There was something immensely satisfying about leaving his marks over Eren.

“Fuck,” Levi moaned out, ready to finally become one with his King again. “Eren, move.”

Eren grinned and gripped Levi’s chin and brought them both into a kiss. He gave one experimental thrust upward. When it was met with Levi moaning into his mouth, he felt relieved. Levi tended to try and get things started before he was really ready, and would then complain about it for hours on end later.

“You’re so tight, my Queen,” Eren grunted and furrowed his brows. “And, so hot.”

Even though Eren was originally taking his time pleasuring Levi, it felt like there was a sense of urgency. Like he needed to feel that Levi was truly there with him again. He wanted to leave marks of his love all over his Queen. He wanted to make Levi his again. He sank his sharpened teeth into his shoulder, leaving a small gash in the skin. Levi’s groaning grew louder. It was the sweetest music Eren had ever heard.

“H-Harder.” Levi demanded, his voice growing raspy. His hands returned to rest on Eren’s shoulders. His talons unsheathed themselves without much thought. They pierced Eren’s skin ever so slightly, letting his crimson blood start to bead underneath the claws.

It was strenuous work to try and meet the pace that Levi had set for them. He doubted the could last too long like this. He had wanted to take his time with Levi. After all, now that they were reunited, they had all the time in the world. But Levi had never been a patient man, far more patient than Eren was, but that is not saying much.

Levi was an intense lover, not without his bouts of tenderness and gentle love making, but those were few and far between. Eren found that he genuinely enjoyed having these passionate moments almost be like a battle. A little struggle between lovers where no matter the victor, they would both win in the end. It kept things interesting, exhilarating. No doubt that in a few hours’ time, Levi would try to dominate once more. Eren was excited to see if he would win.

But for all the fights Levi could put up to make Eren cum before he did, he found himself reaching his end all to soon. “I forgot how thick you are. I feel so full. I…” Levi’s breathy words were overtaken by moans once more. He gasped, trying to force himself to speak, but pleasure hindered his abilities. “I feel complete.”

His brows furrowed, and his head bowed to Eren. His eyes were shut tightly as tremors shook his body to the core. His talons sunk deeper into Eren, struggling to find purchase to stabilize himself. He shouted out a strand of unintelligible sounds that Eren barely recognized as his own name as he came. His seed coated both of their chests, mixing with some of the blood that lingered there.

The sight of his Queen climaxing put the world on hold for Eren. He gasped, his mouth falling open as he could only think of the angel in his arms. The angel with blood dripping from his neck and curved horns protruding from his skull. A true “angel” only to Eren. After only a few more thrusts, Eren found himself on the brink as well. He came as he called out his Queen’s name. It echoed throughout the empty throne room.

Levi fell limp in his King’s arms, still weary from his transformation and satiated from their love making. He still needed to rest, and Eren would gladly grant him that. Eren’s arms hooked underneath Levi’s legs and around his arms, securing him in the King’s hold.

Eren stood from their sweat drenched throne, and slowly strode off the dais, carrying his beloved Queen. The stained-glass windows that towered around them cast their radiant colors over their bodies as Eren marched out the grand doors that separated them from the rest of the castle.

Lesser demons scrambled out of Eren’s way when they saw him. They hurried off to resume their cleaning elsewhere. Of course, Eren would have servants to help Levi clean. He would love it if they had servants that would clean for Levi, but he had long since accepted that his Queen would always feel compelled to fix their “piss-poor” work. He wished Levi would rest, but he couldn’t deny that it was always a nice surprise to walk in on Levi bent over scrubbing the floor.

He carried Levi past the grand kitchen. Eren could already smell the grand feast they were cooking in the King and Queen’s honor. His eyes quickly flipped over to the storage racks in the room. He could see the middle shelf lined with Levi’s favorite teas. He could only hope that they were fresh and restocked. If they weren’t, Eren would have to take care of that later.

Eren briefly considered taking the south wing hallway to get to their bedroom chamber. It was a longer walk, but it was much grander. Gilded ornate windows lined the marble tiled hallways, giving a view to the garden that was oh so hard to maintain. It was Levi’s idea to have one. It was usually catching on fire every other week or so, but Levi wanted to have a small piece of earthen beauty down there with them.

But Eren was sure the garden was probably in ruins. He doubted the servants would take the time to care for it after centuries of the self-imposed royalty being gone. He decided to just get to their chamber quickly to help let Levi rest. He took the east wing hallway instead. It was an almost direct route.  
The heavy, ornate doors opened for the King as he approached them. The familiar and welcoming sight of their bedroom awaited him. He focused on laying Levi down on the soft, silk sheets before observing the rest of the room.

The doors to the balcony were wide open. The curtains surrounding the door frame danced in the wind as if they were beckoning Eren to step outside. The fire around the castle was just as sinister as he remembered it. It wasn’t a terribly serene view, and it shouldn’t have been a comforting one to him, but it was. This was home. The Demon King looked over his hellish kingdom of fire and brimstone, but if the love of his immortal life was there to spend eternity with him, it was truly heaven.


End file.
